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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. current — electric
  3. current — of water
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. tear — from crying
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. current — happening now
  10. land — ground
  11. cell — in biology
  12. mine — for digging
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. land — a country
  16. pit — a hole
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. land — to come down
  19. tear — from crying
  20. content — happy
  21. tear — to rip
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. content — the amount
  24. cell — a phone

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