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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  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. current — of water
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. snap — to click
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. clip — to cut
  6. lie — to recline
  7. clip — a video
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. dip — to sink
  10. clip — for paper
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. tear — to rip
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. tear — from crying
  15. ball — a great time
  16. tear — from crying
  17. current — electric
  18. ball — a dance
  19. board — a committee
  20. board — to get on
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. ball — a round shape
  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