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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  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. pound — a weight
  3. season — of the year
  4. game — wild animals
  5. current — electric
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. current — happening now
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. cold — an illness
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. season — in sport
  12. current — of water
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. cold — not warm
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. root — of a word
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. root — the cause
  20. root — of a plant
  21. game — a match
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. pound — for dogs
  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