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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. file — a line of people
  3. file — a document
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. season — of the year
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. current — of water
  9. current — happening now
  10. season — in sport
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — the fish
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. cold — an illness
  15. rash — a series
  16. rash — hasty
  17. current — electric
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. kid — to tease
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. cold — not warm
  24. file — a tool

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