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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. clip — a video
  3. current — electric
  4. field — farmland
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. stem — to come from
  8. swing — music
  9. swing — to play on
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — for paper
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. field — a subject
  16. march — the month
  17. march — music
  18. swing — in golf
  19. march — the month
  20. ball — a great time
  21. ball — a dance
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. field — for sport
  24. current — of water

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