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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  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. bowl — to roll
  2. rest — a break
  3. cue — for pool
  4. cue — a hint
  5. season — of the year
  6. clip — to cut
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. rash — a series
  10. season — in sport
  11. current — electric
  12. cue — a signal
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. current — happening now
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — what's left
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — for paper
  23. wind — moving air
  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