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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. current — electric
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. current — happening now
  7. game — a match
  8. object — to protest
  9. bass — the fish
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. clip — for paper
  14. pass — a permit
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a document
  17. object — an aim
  18. file — a tool
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. object — a thing
  21. game — wild animals
  22. clip — a video
  23. bass — low music
  24. clip — to cut

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