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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. band — a ring
  5. current — happening now
  6. ground — the earth
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. clip — for paper
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. stand — to bear
  11. land — to come down
  12. current — electric
  13. clip — a video
  14. ground — crushed
  15. land — ground
  16. clip — to cut
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. band — a music group
  19. ground — a position
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. sharp — clever
  22. current — of water
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. land — a country

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