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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. clip — for paper
  4. spring — the season
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. foot — a measure
  10. current — of water
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. spring — a coil
  14. current — happening now
  15. suit — in cards
  16. suit — to fit
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. spring — of water
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. clip — a video
  23. suit — clothes
  24. clip — to cut

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