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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  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. clip — a video
  3. race — a contest
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. band — a music group
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. race — humankind
  10. field — for sport
  11. stand — to bear
  12. toast — bread
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. clip — for paper
  15. race — the arms race
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. current — happening now
  19. field — farmland
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. field — a subject
  22. current — electric
  23. band — a ring
  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