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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. clip — a video
  4. prune — to trim
  5. clip — to cut
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. current — electric
  8. wind — moving air
  9. clip — for paper
  10. net — for catching
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. prune — to trim
  13. current — of water
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. face — part of the head
  16. capital — a city
  17. net — after costs
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. capital — money
  20. face — to confront
  21. net — in sport
  22. current — happening now
  23. face — to point toward
  24. fan — a supporter

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