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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 120 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. key — for a lock
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. current — of water
  5. clip — for paper
  6. mate — a friend
  7. key — the most important part
  8. cap — a lid
  9. prune — to trim
  10. clip — a video
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. current — electric
  13. cap — of ice
  14. wind — moving air
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. wind — moving air
  17. clip — to cut
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. cap — a hat
  20. key — in music
  21. current — happening now
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. mate — a partner
  24. prune — to trim

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