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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. current — electric
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — to cut
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — a box
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. march — music
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. current — of water
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pitch — completely
  14. spell — magic
  15. clip — for paper
  16. march — the month
  17. spell — letters
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. spell — a short time
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. lean — to bend
  22. march — the month
  23. lean — thin
  24. chest — of your body

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