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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. can — a tin
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. season — in sport
  5. swing — in golf
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. current — of water
  8. can — a tin
  9. foot — a measure
  10. chest — of your body
  11. can — to be able to
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. cold — an illness
  14. swing — music
  15. current — electric
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. season — of the year
  18. chest — of your body
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. branch — a division
  21. swing — to play on
  22. chest — a box
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. current — happening now

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