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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 116 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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. band — a ring
  3. season — in sport
  4. band — a music group
  5. current — happening now
  6. rule — a law
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. shower — to wash
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. current — electric
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. rule — government
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — rain
  18. current — of water
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — a phone
  21. season — of the year
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. trunk — of a tree

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