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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. current — electric
  3. clip — a video
  4. current — of water
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. track — a song
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. track — to keep track
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. clip — to cut
  11. hand — help
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. scale — size or range
  14. scale — in music
  15. current — happening now
  16. track — a path
  17. clip — for paper
  18. fork — in a road
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. pitch — completely
  21. stem — to come from
  22. hand — in cards
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. scale — for weighing

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