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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. rule — a law
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bat — the animal
  6. season — in sport
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. court — of a king
  12. hand — help
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. court — of law
  16. season — of the year
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. court — for sport
  19. hand — in cards
  20. rule — government
  21. current — happening now
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. current — of water

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