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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 116 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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. clip — for paper
  6. prune — to trim
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bank — for money
  11. bank — of a river
  12. current — happening now
  13. current — of water
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. clip — to cut
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. prune — to trim
  20. branch — a division
  21. clip — a video
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. bank — for money
  24. kick — in football

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