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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. fine — all right
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. season — in sport
  7. mark — a grade
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. current — happening now
  10. bass — low music
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. spell — letters
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. fine — high quality
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. mark — a trace
  18. bass — the fish
  19. current — of water
  20. season — of the year
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. tear — from crying
  23. spell — a short time
  24. spell — magic

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