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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  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. current — electric
  2. current — of water
  3. face — to confront
  4. clip — a video
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. bank — for money
  7. degree — temperature
  8. mine — for digging
  9. face — part of the head
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. bank — for money
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. degree — from a university
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bank — of a river
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. degree — an amount
  19. clip — for paper
  20. wound — an injury
  21. face — to point toward
  22. clip — to cut
  23. deal — to handle
  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