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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. face — to confront
  3. land — ground
  4. clip — for paper
  5. current — of water
  6. clip — to cut
  7. face — part of the head
  8. pit — in a race
  9. current — electric
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. branch — a division
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. land — a country
  15. pit — a hole
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. face — to point toward
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. land — to come down
  24. clip — a video

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