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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 120 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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — a video
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. clip — to cut
  10. prune — to trim
  11. bark — to shout
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. shower — to wash
  15. current — of water
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. chair — a leader
  18. shower — rain
  19. current — happening now
  20. prune — to trim
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. pitch — completely
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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