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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. spell — magic
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. kid — to tease
  5. scale — in music
  6. season — in sport
  7. can — to be able to
  8. file — a document
  9. file — a line of people
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. current — happening now
  12. kid — child
  13. spell — letters
  14. file — a tool
  15. can — a tin
  16. current — electric
  17. spell — a short time
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. can — a tin
  20. current — of water
  21. scale — size or range
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. season — of the year

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