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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 116 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. current — electric
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. ball — a great time
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. march — the month
  8. ball — a dance
  9. clip — for paper
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. march — the month
  12. mine — for digging
  13. pass — a permit
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. march — music
  17. content — the amount
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. clip — to cut
  20. content — happy
  21. clip — a video
  22. current — happening now
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. current — of water

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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