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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. current — of water
  4. clip — to cut
  5. court — of law
  6. clip — a video
  7. court — of a king
  8. clip — for paper
  9. current — electric
  10. last — to go on
  11. current — happening now
  12. bark — to shout
  13. court — for sport
  14. last — final
  15. board — a committee
  16. board — to get on
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. shower — rain
  21. last — finally
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. shower — to wash
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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