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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. mate — a friend
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. mate — a partner
  7. clip — a video
  8. bulb — for light
  9. field — a subject
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. field — for sport
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. deal — to handle
  14. bulb — for light
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. field — farmland
  17. snap — to click
  18. mate — to breed
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. clip — to cut
  21. current — happening now
  22. current — of water
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. current — electric

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