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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. current — of water
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. club — for golf
  5. current — happening now
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. cold — not warm
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — for paper
  10. craft — boats
  11. club — for dancing
  12. craft — a skill
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. clip — to cut
  15. cold — an illness
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. game — wild animals
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. current — electric
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. snap — to click
  23. club — a group
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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