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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. staff — employees
  3. current — electric
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. lean — thin
  6. season — of the year
  7. land — ground
  8. land — a country
  9. lean — to bend
  10. land — to come down
  11. current — of water
  12. season — in sport
  13. date — the fruit
  14. squash — to crush
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. shower — rain
  17. squash — the sport
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. staff — employees
  20. staff — a stick
  21. shower — to wash
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. current — happening now
  24. lean — to rest against

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