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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. toast — bread
  3. current — electric
  4. object — an aim
  5. pop — soda
  6. object — a thing
  7. net — for catching
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — the earth
  10. race — a contest
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. object — to protest
  13. clip — for paper
  14. net — in sport
  15. current — of water
  16. pop — to visit
  17. pop — music
  18. net — after costs
  19. race — humankind
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. race — the arms race
  22. ground — crushed
  23. clip — a video
  24. current — happening now

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