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

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. cell — in biology
  3. swing — to play on
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. present — a gift
  6. file — a document
  7. season — in sport
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. file — a line of people
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. current — electric
  13. file — a tool
  14. swing — in golf
  15. current — happening now
  16. present — there
  17. swing — music
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. present — the time now
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cell — a phone
  23. current — of water
  24. mine — for digging

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