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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 120 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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. chip — to eat
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. current — happening now
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. season — in sport
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. kid — to tease
  9. cold — not warm
  10. fine — high quality
  11. season — of the year
  12. current — of water
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. fine — all right
  15. current — electric
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. rush — hurry
  18. cold — an illness
  19. mine — for digging
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. chip — for betting
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. rush — to hurry

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