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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. clip — for paper
  3. current — happening now
  4. cap — a hat
  5. present — a gift
  6. kick — in football
  7. band — a ring
  8. present — there
  9. cap — of ice
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. current — electric
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — to cut
  14. cap — a lid
  15. current — of water
  16. row — to paddle
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. band — a music group
  20. present — the time now
  21. row — a line
  22. rash — hasty
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. rash — a series

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