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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. field — a subject
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. cold — not warm
  5. current — electric
  6. present — the time now
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. clip — for paper
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. rock — music
  11. firm — decided
  12. field — for sport
  13. rock — a stone
  14. firm — a company
  15. current — happening now
  16. branch — a division
  17. present — a gift
  18. present — there
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. cold — an illness
  21. firm — steady
  22. current — of water
  23. clip — a video
  24. field — farmland

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