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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. clip — to cut
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. current — of water
  6. season — in sport
  7. season — of the year
  8. wind — moving air
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. clip — for paper
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. current — electric
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. chair — a leader
  20. date — the fruit
  21. current — happening now
  22. clip — a video
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. chair — to sit on

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