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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 116 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — a video
  3. current — electric
  4. object — to protest
  5. face — part of the head
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. face — to point toward
  14. face — to confront
  15. current — happening now
  16. bat — the animal
  17. current — of water
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. object — an aim
  20. object — a thing
  21. kick — in football
  22. branch — a division
  23. clip — for paper
  24. bat — for baseball

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