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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. season — of the year
  3. squash — the sport
  4. last — final
  5. last — finally
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. spell — letters
  8. spell — magic
  9. bark — to shout
  10. last — to go on
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. current — happening now
  13. current — of water
  14. stock — goods
  15. mug — to rob
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. season — in sport
  18. squash — to crush
  19. stock — shares
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. spell — a short time
  22. mug — a cup
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. mug — a face

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