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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. current — of water
  3. rest — what's left
  4. lean — to bend
  5. fall — to drop
  6. current — happening now
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — for paper
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. rest — what's left
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. fall — the season
  13. wound — an injury
  14. cell — in biology
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. rest — a break
  17. clip — a video
  18. cell — a phone
  19. current — electric
  20. wound — an injury
  21. lean — thin
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. fall — to drop

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