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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. wound — an injury
  3. season — in sport
  4. current — of water
  5. current — electric
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. field — farmland
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. root — of a plant
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. cell — in biology
  13. pit — a hole
  14. root — the cause
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. pit — in a race
  17. current — happening now
  18. wound — an injury
  19. root — of a word
  20. field — a subject
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. cell — a phone
  23. season — of the year
  24. field — for sport

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