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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. current — electric
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. present — the time now
  8. chest — a box
  9. stand — to bear
  10. chest — of your body
  11. current — happening now
  12. bank — for money
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bank — for money
  16. chest — of your body
  17. fork — in a road
  18. bank — of a river
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. clip — a video
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. current — of water
  23. clip — to cut
  24. present — a gift

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