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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 124 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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — wild animals
  4. content — happy
  5. content — the amount
  6. vault — a safe
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. game — a match
  13. clip — for paper
  14. current — happening now
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. current — of water
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. tear — to rip
  19. clip — a video
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. pass — a permit
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — from crying
  24. clip — to cut

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