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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. season — of the year
  8. charge — a price
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. charge — in control
  12. current — of water
  13. current — happening now
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. charge — electricity
  16. kick — in football
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. season — in sport
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. cold — not warm
  21. stem — to come from
  22. current — electric
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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