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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. current — happening now
  3. mate — to breed
  4. chip — to eat
  5. mate — a friend
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. spring — the season
  8. content — the amount
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. current — of water
  11. current — electric
  12. clip — to cut
  13. content — happy
  14. spring — of water
  15. rock — a stone
  16. spring — a coil
  17. clip — a video
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. clip — for paper
  20. chip — for betting
  21. mate — a partner
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. rule — a law
  24. rule — government

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