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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. clip — for paper
  3. pop — music
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. current — electric
  6. race — a contest
  7. current — happening now
  8. face — to confront
  9. face — to point toward
  10. race — humankind
  11. net — in sport
  12. race — the arms race
  13. face — part of the head
  14. dip — to sink
  15. clip — a video
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. net — for catching
  20. pop — to visit
  21. pop — soda
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. clip — to cut
  24. net — after costs

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