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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. chest — of your body
  3. object — a thing
  4. last — finally
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. chest — a box
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. mark — a trace
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. mark — a grade
  12. last — to go on
  13. current — electric
  14. last — final
  15. current — of water
  16. sharp — clever
  17. season — of the year
  18. current — happening now
  19. object — an aim
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bulb — for light
  22. object — to protest
  23. sharp — with an edge
  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