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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cap — of ice
  4. scale — in music
  5. staff — a stick
  6. current — electric
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. chest — a box
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. cap — a hat
  11. kick — in football
  12. clip — a video
  13. branch — a division
  14. chest — of your body
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. clip — for paper
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. clip — to cut
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. current — of water
  21. current — happening now
  22. scale — size or range
  23. staff — employees
  24. staff — employees

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