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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 seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. march — music
  3. row — a line
  4. lean — to bend
  5. bulb — for light
  6. current — electric
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. lean — thin
  9. rule — a law
  10. bulb — for light
  11. clip — for paper
  12. rule — government
  13. staff — a stick
  14. march — the month
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. staff — employees
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. current — happening now
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. staff — employees
  21. clip — a video
  22. march — the month
  23. row — to paddle
  24. current — of water

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