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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. pit — in a race
  4. current — electric
  5. wind — moving air
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. clip — a video
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. clip — for paper
  14. current — of water
  15. cold — an illness
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. clip — to cut
  19. pit — a hole
  20. wind — moving air
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. pound — a weight
  24. current — happening now

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