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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. current — electric
  4. squash — to crush
  5. squash — the sport
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. club — a group
  8. cold — not warm
  9. clip — to cut
  10. rest — a break
  11. root — the cause
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. current — happening now
  14. rest — what's left
  15. current — of water
  16. root — of a plant
  17. root — of a word
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. club — for dancing
  21. clip — a video
  22. cold — an illness
  23. clip — for paper
  24. club — for golf

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