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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. band — a music group
  3. wake — a trail
  4. clip — a video
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — a box
  7. bulb — for light
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. bulb — for light
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. current — happening now
  13. chair — a leader
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. pitch — completely
  16. chest — of your body
  17. clip — for paper
  18. band — a ring
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. clip — to cut
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. current — electric
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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