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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. bore — to tire
  3. season — in sport
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. bore — to drill
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. field — for sport
  9. key — for a lock
  10. clip — for paper
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. current — happening now
  13. field — farmland
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. clip — a video
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. field — a subject
  19. key — in music
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. key — the most important part
  22. clip — to cut
  23. season — of the year
  24. current — electric

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com