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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. ground — a position
  6. season — in sport
  7. last — final
  8. current — of water
  9. season — of the year
  10. mine — for digging
  11. lean — thin
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. current — happening now
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. band — a ring
  17. lean — to bend
  18. ground — the earth
  19. ground — crushed
  20. band — a music group
  21. last — finally
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. last — to go on
  24. fan — to cool the air

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