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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. current — electric
  4. clip — for paper
  5. spell — magic
  6. lie — to recline
  7. spell — letters
  8. clip — a video
  9. spell — a short time
  10. spring — a coil
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. chair — a leader
  13. spring — the season
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. spring — of water
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. current — happening now
  19. plane — a tool
  20. clip — to cut
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. dip — to sink

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