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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. pop — soda
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. clip — a video
  6. stem — to come from
  7. wound — an injury
  8. pop — to visit
  9. current — of water
  10. bark — to shout
  11. stand — to bear
  12. current — electric
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. current — happening now
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. clip — to cut
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. clip — for paper
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. wound — an injury
  24. racket — for tennis

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