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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 120 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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. current — electric
  4. wound — an injury
  5. track — a song
  6. current — happening now
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. land — to come down
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. clip — to cut
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wound — an injury
  14. clip — a video
  15. land — ground
  16. current — of water
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. plane — a tool
  20. land — a country
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. clip — for paper
  23. track — to keep track
  24. wax — to grow

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