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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. pit — a hole
  3. clip — a video
  4. current — happening now
  5. kick — in football
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. staff — employees
  11. current — electric
  12. staff — employees
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. pit — in a race
  15. staff — a stick
  16. rash — a series
  17. clip — to cut
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. current — of water
  21. clip — for paper
  22. rash — hasty
  23. pound — a weight
  24. rash — on the skin

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