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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. current — electric
  3. season — of the year
  4. prune — to trim
  5. season — in sport
  6. current — happening now
  7. chest — of your body
  8. race — humankind
  9. swing — music
  10. march — the month
  11. chest — a box
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. prune — to trim
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. swing — in golf
  17. swing — to play on
  18. chest — of your body
  19. race — the arms race
  20. current — of water
  21. chip — for betting
  22. march — music
  23. march — the month
  24. race — a contest

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