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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a document
  6. current — electric
  7. season — of the year
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — final
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. fork — in a road
  14. file — a line of people
  15. bulb — for light
  16. last — finally
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. current — happening now
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. bark — to shout
  21. plane — a tool
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. current — of water
  24. plane — an aircraft

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