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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. toast — bread
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. clip — to cut
  5. root — of a plant
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. ball — a great time
  9. tear — from crying
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. root — of a word
  13. clip — for paper
  14. ball — a dance
  15. current — happening now
  16. tear — to rip
  17. clip — a video
  18. tear — from crying
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. current — electric
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. root — the cause
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. sharp — clever

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