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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. clip — to cut
  4. cold — an illness
  5. current — happening now
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. current — of water
  10. dip — to sink
  11. clip — a video
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. clip — for paper
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. cold — not warm
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. rash — a series
  23. rash — hasty
  24. ruler — for measuring

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