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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. spring — the season
  3. can — a tin
  4. current — electric
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. last — finally
  7. last — final
  8. cell — in biology
  9. perch — the fish
  10. can — to be able to
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. last — to go on
  13. current — happening now
  14. current — of water
  15. can — a tin
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — a phone
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — of water
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. ball — a dance

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