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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. rest — what's left
  3. present — a gift
  4. cold — an illness
  5. rest — what's left
  6. cell — in biology
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. rest — a break
  9. current — happening now
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. season — of the year
  12. prune — to trim
  13. present — the time now
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. roll — a cake
  16. current — electric
  17. season — in sport
  18. present — there
  19. cell — a phone
  20. roll — a list
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. prune — to trim
  23. cold — not warm
  24. current — 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