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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. tear — from crying
  4. ball — a great time
  5. season — in sport
  6. season — of the year
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. current — happening now
  9. march — the month
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. kid — to tease
  12. ball — a dance
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. march — the month
  15. kid — child
  16. current — electric
  17. mark — a grade
  18. tear — from crying
  19. mark — a trace
  20. march — music
  21. tear — to rip
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. stem — to come from
  24. current — of water

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