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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. staff — a stick
  3. current — electric
  4. cell — in biology
  5. clip — to cut
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. rest — a break
  8. current — of water
  9. staff — employees
  10. current — happening now
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cell — a phone
  13. track — a path
  14. track — a song
  15. rest — what's left
  16. ball — a dance
  17. clip — a video
  18. rest — what's left
  19. ball — a great time
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. staff — employees
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. clip — for paper
  24. track — to keep track

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