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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. kid — child
  3. season — in sport
  4. land — ground
  5. kid — to tease
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. current — electric
  8. land — to come down
  9. cell — in biology
  10. season — of the year
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. current — of water
  14. squash — to crush
  15. cell — a phone
  16. land — a country
  17. squash — the sport
  18. season — to add flavour

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