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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: march · mug · field · sharp · current · hide · face · clip

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  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. current — of water
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. mug — a cup
  4. march — music
  5. mug — a face
  6. sharp — clever
  7. field — farmland
  8. mug — to rob
  9. current — electric
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. clip — a video
  12. face — to confront
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. field — a subject
  16. march — the month
  17. current — happening now
  18. field — for sport
  19. march — the month
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. face — to point toward
  22. face — part of the head
  23. clip — to cut
  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