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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. clip — to cut
  3. fine — high quality
  4. clip — for paper
  5. present — the time now
  6. chip — for betting
  7. current — happening now
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. clip — a video
  10. present — a gift
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. fine — all right
  14. plane — a tool
  15. chip — to eat
  16. current — of water
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. band — a music group
  19. wound — an injury
  20. current — electric
  21. band — a ring
  22. wound — an injury
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. band — a rubber band

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