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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. clip — to cut
  3. rock — music
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. current — electric
  7. clip — a video
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. rock — a stone
  10. game — wild animals
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. mine — for digging
  13. game — a match
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. cell — in biology
  16. current — happening now
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. bass — the fish
  19. current — of water
  20. cell — a phone
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. bass — low music
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. clip — for paper

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