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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 120 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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. current — happening now
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. content — the amount
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. object — to protest
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. cold — an illness
  11. object — a thing
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. bulb — for light
  15. cold — not warm
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. current — of water
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. season — of the year
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. content — happy
  22. object — an aim
  23. season — in sport
  24. bulb — for light

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