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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. clip — for paper
  3. track — to keep track
  4. track — a path
  5. cold — an illness
  6. current — electric
  7. cold — not warm
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. dip — to sink
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. clip — to cut
  13. season — of the year
  14. current — happening now
  15. track — a song
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. clip — a video
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. current — of water
  24. season — in sport

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