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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 120 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — a video
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. wound — an injury
  6. fine — all right
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. ground — crushed
  9. ground — the earth
  10. current — of water
  11. fine — high quality
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. current — electric
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. ground — a position
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. current — happening now
  20. wound — an injury
  21. clip — to cut
  22. scale — size or range
  23. tear — from crying
  24. scale — in music

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