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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. chip — to eat
  4. clip — to cut
  5. current — electric
  6. prune — to trim
  7. chip — for betting
  8. present — there
  9. clip — for paper
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. field — a subject
  13. clip — a video
  14. current — of water
  15. present — the time now
  16. current — happening now
  17. present — a gift
  18. toast — bread
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — for sport

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