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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. wound — an injury
  3. current — electric
  4. season — of the year
  5. wound — an injury
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. clip — to cut
  8. mate — to breed
  9. present — a gift
  10. mate — a partner
  11. clip — a video
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. stem — to come from
  14. clip — for paper
  15. mate — a friend
  16. lean — thin
  17. lean — to bend
  18. season — in sport
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. current — of water
  21. current — happening now
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. present — there

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