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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. current — electric
  3. file — a document
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. shower — rain
  9. season — in sport
  10. mate — a partner
  11. drill — the tool
  12. season — of the year
  13. mate — to breed
  14. date — the fruit
  15. current — happening now
  16. shower — to wash
  17. drill — a practice
  18. mate — a friend
  19. drill — army training
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a line of people
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. calf — a young animal

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