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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. current — of water
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. current — happening now
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. clip — for paper
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. clip — a video
  10. season — in sport
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. mark — a grade
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. stock — goods
  17. march — the month
  18. clip — to cut
  19. stock — shares
  20. stem — to come from
  21. mark — a trace
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. season — of the year
  24. pass — a permit

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