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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. season — in sport
  3. bound — tied together
  4. current — happening now
  5. row — a line
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. row — to paddle
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. bound — certain
  11. board — to get on
  12. bound — obliged
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. spring — the season
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. board — a committee
  18. season — of the year
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. spring — of water
  21. current — electric
  22. spring — a coil
  23. current — of water
  24. row — a quarrel

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