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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. can — a tin
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. spell — a short time
  5. drill — the tool
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. drill — a practice
  8. current — happening now
  9. hand — in cards
  10. row — to paddle
  11. drill — army training
  12. clip — for paper
  13. spell — magic
  14. hand — help
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — to cut
  17. row — a line
  18. can — a tin
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. current — electric
  22. dip — to sink
  23. can — to be able to
  24. spell — letters

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