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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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468
Word bank
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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. pop — soda
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — a video
  5. season — in sport
  6. clip — for paper
  7. pop — to visit
  8. season — of the year
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. land — ground
  11. mate — a partner
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mate — a friend
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. pop — music
  18. current — electric
  19. current — of water
  20. current — happening now
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. land — a country
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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