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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. foot — a measure
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. season — of the year
  6. pop — soda
  7. pop — music
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. vault — a safe
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. current — of water
  17. current — electric
  18. current — happening now
  19. pop — to visit
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. season — in sport
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. mine — belonging to me

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