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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. clip — a video
  5. current — of water
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. spring — the season
  8. bear — the animal
  9. clip — for paper
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. current — happening now
  12. rock — music
  13. spring — of water
  14. present — a gift
  15. pound — a weight
  16. clip — to cut
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. stem — to come from
  19. spring — a coil
  20. current — electric
  21. bear — the animal
  22. rock — a stone
  23. present — the time now
  24. stem — of a plant

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