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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. key — the most important part
  3. present — the time now
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. stand — to bear
  6. race — humankind
  7. key — for a lock
  8. current — electric
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. present — a gift
  11. race — the arms race
  12. clip — to cut
  13. race — a contest
  14. season — in sport
  15. perch — the fish
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. present — there
  18. current — happening now
  19. key — in music
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. season — of the year
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — a video
  24. perch — for a bird

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