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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 120 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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. chest — of your body
  4. current — of water
  5. spring — of water
  6. ground — crushed
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. mate — to breed
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. chip — to eat
  11. chip — for betting
  12. mate — a friend
  13. chest — of your body
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. current — happening now
  16. mate — a partner
  17. chest — a box
  18. ground — a position
  19. wind — moving air
  20. current — electric
  21. wind — moving air
  22. ground — the earth
  23. spring — a coil
  24. leaves — of a tree

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