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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. current — happening now
  5. race — the arms race
  6. kid — child
  7. board — a committee
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. race — a contest
  12. board — to get on
  13. race — humankind
  14. season — of the year
  15. lean — thin
  16. plane — a tool
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. current — electric
  19. lean — to bend
  20. bark — to shout
  21. season — in sport
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. current — of water

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