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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. current — of water
  4. current — happening now
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. spell — a short time
  7. clip — a video
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. chest — of your body
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. spell — magic
  12. wind — moving air
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. chest — a box
  15. current — electric
  16. clip — for paper
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. wind — moving air
  19. chest — of your body
  20. clip — to cut
  21. spell — letters
  22. stock — goods
  23. stock — shares
  24. jam — a tight spot

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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