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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. current — happening now
  3. hand — help
  4. clip — a video
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cap — a hat
  9. wound — an injury
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. lie — to recline
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. current — of water
  15. cap — of ice
  16. mate — a friend
  17. mate — a partner
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. current — electric
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. clip — for paper
  22. mate — to breed
  23. hand — in cards
  24. clip — to cut

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