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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. rest — what's left
  4. clip — to cut
  5. cell — in biology
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cell — a phone
  9. current — of water
  10. current — happening now
  11. bank — for money
  12. rest — what's left
  13. clip — a video
  14. capital — a city
  15. bank — of a river
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. clip — for paper
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. date — the fruit
  22. rest — a break
  23. bank — for money
  24. capital — money

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