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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. current — electric
  3. current — of water
  4. clip — a video
  5. cold — an illness
  6. rule — a law
  7. current — happening now
  8. cap — a hat
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cap — a lid
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. cold — not warm
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rule — government
  17. bore — to drill
  18. clip — to cut
  19. pound — a weight
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. pound — for dogs
  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