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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. mark — a grade
  3. clip — for paper
  4. tear — from crying
  5. current — of water
  6. spring — the season
  7. rash — a series
  8. current — electric
  9. bulb — for light
  10. tear — from crying
  11. clip — to cut
  12. tear — to rip
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. spring — of water
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. mark — a trace
  17. current — happening now
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. clip — a video
  21. can — to be able to
  22. can — a tin
  23. spring — a coil
  24. can — a tin

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