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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. tube — a container
  4. lie — to recline
  5. last — final
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. mine — for digging
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. current — of water
  12. tube — the underground
  13. field — farmland
  14. last — to go on
  15. current — electric
  16. field — for sport
  17. last — finally
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. stand — to bear
  22. field — a subject
  23. cell — in biology
  24. mine — an explosive

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