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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. mug — to rob
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. current — electric
  6. mug — a cup
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. current — happening now
  10. file — a tool
  11. clip — a video
  12. file — a document
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. bat — the animal
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. lie — to recline
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. clip — to cut
  20. clip — for paper
  21. stand — to bear
  22. current — of water
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. file — a line of people

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