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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. current — electric
  4. scale — in music
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. tear — from crying
  7. can — a tin
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. scale — size or range
  11. row — a line
  12. chair — a leader
  13. clip — a video
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. current — of water
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. tear — from crying
  18. can — a tin
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. can — to be able to
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — to cut
  23. row — to paddle
  24. current — happening now

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