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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. current — electric
  3. press — to push
  4. clip — to cut
  5. cap — of ice
  6. tube — the underground
  7. face — to point toward
  8. press — a publisher
  9. current — of water
  10. tube — a container
  11. face — part of the head
  12. current — happening now
  13. cap — a lid
  14. clip — a video
  15. game — wild animals
  16. clip — for paper
  17. cap — a hat
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. game — a match
  20. press — newspapers
  21. wound — an injury
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. face — to confront

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