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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. clip — a video
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. wind — moving air
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. cold — not warm
  7. foot — a measure
  8. bass — low music
  9. clip — for paper
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. row — a line
  12. cold — an illness
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. clip — to cut
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. current — happening now
  17. wind — moving air
  18. current — electric
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. current — of water
  21. chip — to eat
  22. bass — the fish
  23. chip — for betting
  24. wind — to turn a key

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