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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. chest — a box
  3. last — final
  4. key — the most important part
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. season — in sport
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. lean — to bend
  12. lean — thin
  13. last — to go on
  14. chest — of your body
  15. key — for a lock
  16. current — electric
  17. chest — of your body
  18. last — finally
  19. key — in music
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. current — happening now
  22. mine — for digging
  23. current — of water
  24. mine — an explosive

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