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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. last — final
  3. key — for a lock
  4. current — happening now
  5. current — electric
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. chip — for betting
  8. kid — to tease
  9. scale — size or range
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. key — the most important part
  12. court — of law
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. last — to go on
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. court — of a king
  17. scale — in music
  18. court — for sport
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. key — in music
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. current — of water
  23. last — finally
  24. kid — child

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