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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 116 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. current — of water
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a match
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cap — a lid
  8. rash — a series
  9. season — in sport
  10. current — electric
  11. cap — of ice
  12. bound — obliged
  13. cell — a phone
  14. deal — to handle
  15. cap — a hat
  16. season — of the year
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. rash — hasty
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. bound — tied together
  22. cell — in biology
  23. current — happening now
  24. bound — certain

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