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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. shower — to wash
  4. current — of water
  5. current — happening now
  6. mug — a face
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. pitch — completely
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. present — there
  14. clip — for paper
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. clip — a video
  17. mug — a cup
  18. stem — to come from
  19. mug — to rob
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. present — the time now
  22. present — a gift
  23. shower — rain
  24. current — electric

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