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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. current — happening now
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. march — music
  5. clip — for paper
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. march — the month
  9. pop — music
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. current — electric
  12. rest — a break
  13. perch — the fish
  14. mine — for digging
  15. pop — soda
  16. rest — what's left
  17. current — of water
  18. clip — to cut
  19. rest — what's left
  20. pop — to visit
  21. march — the month
  22. dip — to sink
  23. clip — a video
  24. perch — for a bird

Multiple-meaning words list

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

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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