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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. current — happening now
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. clip — to cut
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. clip — for paper
  13. lean — to bend
  14. squash — the sport
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. squash — to crush
  18. game — a match
  19. lean — thin
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. clip — a video
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. mine — for digging
  24. current — electric

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