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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 116 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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. last — finally
  3. game — wild animals
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. current — of water
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. clip — a video
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. band — a ring
  10. last — final
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — to cut
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. band — a music group
  16. charge — in control
  17. charge — electricity
  18. branch — a division
  19. current — electric
  20. charge — a price
  21. pitch — completely
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. last — to go on
  24. current — happening now

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