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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  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 — to cut
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. club — for dancing
  5. kick — in football
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. clip — for paper
  8. tear — from crying
  9. snap — to click
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. club — for golf
  12. current — electric
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. scale — size or range
  15. tear — to rip
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. scale — in music
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. clip — a video
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. tear — from crying
  23. club — a group
  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