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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  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. current — of water
  2. bore — to drill
  3. current — happening now
  4. hand — help
  5. land — a country
  6. bore — to tire
  7. mate — a partner
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. mate — to breed
  10. current — electric
  11. hand — in cards
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. land — ground
  14. field — farmland
  15. clip — for paper
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. land — to come down
  18. field — for sport
  19. clip — to cut
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. field — a subject
  22. mate — a friend
  23. deal — to handle
  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