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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. current — electric
  3. season — of the year
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. season — in sport
  7. staff — employees
  8. lean — thin
  9. shower — to wash
  10. wound — an injury
  11. staff — a stick
  12. current — of water
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. current — happening now
  17. lean — to bend
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. stock — goods
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. shower — rain
  22. staff — employees
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. stock — shares

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