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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. clip — a video
  4. root — of a plant
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. current — of water
  7. squash — the sport
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. craft — a skill
  10. root — the cause
  11. swing — music
  12. current — electric
  13. current — happening now
  14. swing — to play on
  15. clip — for paper
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. swing — in golf
  19. clip — to cut
  20. root — of a word
  21. cold — an illness
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. squash — to crush
  24. craft — boats

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