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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. spell — a short time
  3. kick — in football
  4. spell — magic
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. clip — a video
  7. rash — hasty
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. clip — to cut
  11. current — of water
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a tool
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. rash — a series
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. current — electric
  20. clip — for paper
  21. file — a document
  22. spell — letters
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. current — happening now

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