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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. tear — from crying
  3. staff — a stick
  4. season — of the year
  5. current — electric
  6. tear — from crying
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. bound — tied together
  9. staff — employees
  10. current — happening now
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. court — for sport
  13. chip — for betting
  14. current — of water
  15. court — of law
  16. deal — to handle
  17. bound — obliged
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. season — in sport
  20. court — of a king
  21. bound — certain
  22. tear — to rip
  23. staff — employees
  24. chip — to eat

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