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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. season — of the year
  4. wind — moving air
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. current — electric
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. roll — a list
  12. drill — a practice
  13. current — happening now
  14. prune — to trim
  15. drill — the tool
  16. prune — to trim
  17. drill — army training
  18. field — a subject
  19. current — of water
  20. field — farmland
  21. roll — a cake
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. field — for sport
  24. hide — animal skin

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