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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. staff — a stick
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. staff — employees
  9. mark — a trace
  10. current — happening now
  11. mark — a grade
  12. current — electric
  13. clip — to cut
  14. squash — the sport
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bound — tied together
  17. bound — certain
  18. current — of water
  19. staff — employees
  20. clip — for paper
  21. squash — to crush
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. clip — a video

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