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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. staff — employees
  3. fall — the season
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. net — for catching
  6. season — of the year
  7. spring — a coil
  8. net — after costs
  9. current — of water
  10. tube — a container
  11. tube — the underground
  12. staff — a stick
  13. fall — to drop
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. current — happening now
  16. bat — the animal
  17. spring — of water
  18. fall — to drop
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. net — in sport
  21. current — electric
  22. season — in sport
  23. spring — the season
  24. staff — employees

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