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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. scale — in music
  4. current — happening now
  5. clip — to cut
  6. scale — size or range
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. wound — an injury
  10. current — of water
  11. march — the month
  12. clip — for paper
  13. march — the month
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. clip — a video
  24. march — music

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