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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. current — of water
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — a video
  7. squash — to crush
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. squash — the sport
  10. current — electric
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. clip — for paper
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. current — happening now
  17. cell — in biology
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. bat — the animal
  20. cell — a phone
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. leaves — of a tree

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