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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. current — of water
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. rock — a stone
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. capital — money
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. current — happening now
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. clip — for paper
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. foot — a measure
  15. bound — certain
  16. bound — obliged
  17. clip — to cut
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. current — electric
  20. bound — tied together
  21. rock — music
  22. capital — a city
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. clip — a video

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