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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. can — to be able to
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. club — for dancing
  5. last — final
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — finally
  8. scale — in music
  9. can — a tin
  10. current — happening now
  11. current — of water
  12. cold — an illness
  13. club — a group
  14. season — in sport
  15. season — of the year
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. scale — size or range
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. club — for golf
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. current — electric
  23. cold — not warm
  24. patient — a sick person

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