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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. current — of water
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. season — in sport
  5. prune — to trim
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. current — electric
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. land — a country
  12. board — to get on
  13. snap — to click
  14. season — of the year
  15. wind — moving air
  16. land — ground
  17. rash — a series
  18. land — to come down
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. rash — hasty
  22. wind — moving air
  23. board — a committee
  24. prune — to trim

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