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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. clip — to cut
  3. face — to point toward
  4. stem — to come from
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. face — part of the head
  7. current — electric
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tear — from crying
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. swing — in golf
  14. face — to confront
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. clip — for paper
  19. swing — to play on
  20. current — of water
  21. current — happening now
  22. sharp — clever
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. clip — a video

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