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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. clip — to cut
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. current — of water
  10. clip — a video
  11. kid — to tease
  12. season — in sport
  13. fork — in a road
  14. mine — for digging
  15. clip — for paper
  16. fall — to drop
  17. season — of the year
  18. kid — child
  19. current — happening now
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. current — electric
  22. fall — the season
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. fall — to drop

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