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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. clip — for paper
  3. current — of water
  4. tube — a container
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — after costs
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. game — wild animals
  10. net — in sport
  11. mate — a partner
  12. march — the month
  13. mate — a friend
  14. clip — to cut
  15. game — a match
  16. march — music
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. current — happening now
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. clip — a video
  22. march — the month
  23. mate — to breed
  24. tube — the underground

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