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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. rash — a series
  3. current — electric
  4. land — ground
  5. current — of water
  6. rash — hasty
  7. bass — low music
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. mate — a friend
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. clip — a video
  15. chair — a leader
  16. current — happening now
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. land — a country
  20. bass — the fish
  21. mate — to breed
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. land — to come down
  24. clip — for paper

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