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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. last — final
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. tear — from crying
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. mark — a grade
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. tear — from crying
  9. kick — in football
  10. bass — low music
  11. bass — the fish
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. mark — a trace
  14. last — finally
  15. current — of water
  16. season — of the year
  17. last — to go on
  18. season — in sport
  19. spring — the season
  20. current — happening now
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. tear — to rip
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — of water

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