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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 124 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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. capital — money
  3. current — electric
  4. bound — obliged
  5. kid — child
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. clip — for paper
  8. current — happening now
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. bound — tied together
  13. kid — to tease
  14. clip — a video
  15. capital — a city
  16. bound — certain
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. current — of water
  21. kick — in football
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. lean — to bend
  24. clip — to cut

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