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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. ground — a position
  5. season — of the year
  6. cap — a lid
  7. row — a line
  8. clip — a video
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. row — to paddle
  12. clip — for paper
  13. current — electric
  14. current — happening now
  15. bark — to shout
  16. clip — to cut
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. current — of water
  19. ground — the earth
  20. cap — a hat
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. ground — crushed
  24. cap — of ice

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