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

Word bank: current · last · jam · face · lean · bowl · clip · present

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  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. last — to go on
  2. last — finally
  3. clip — to cut
  4. last — final
  5. current — happening now
  6. present — there
  7. clip — a video
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. lean — thin
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. current — electric
  15. face — part of the head
  16. current — of water
  17. present — the time now
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. face — to point toward
  20. face — to confront
  21. present — a gift
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. lean — to bend
  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