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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. spring — of water
  3. mate — a friend
  4. clip — to cut
  5. current — of water
  6. mate — a partner
  7. file — a document
  8. clip — a video
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. spring — the season
  11. file — a line of people
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. current — electric
  14. clip — for paper
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. spring — a coil
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. current — happening now
  19. mate — to breed
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. pit — in a race
  23. file — a tool
  24. mouse — the animal

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