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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. cap — a lid
  3. clip — to cut
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. current — electric
  6. spell — a short time
  7. cap — a hat
  8. spell — magic
  9. cap — of ice
  10. stock — shares
  11. staff — a stick
  12. prune — to trim
  13. spell — letters
  14. prune — to trim
  15. stock — goods
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — employees
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. clip — for paper
  21. current — happening now
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. clip — a video

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