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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. current — electric
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. current — happening now
  8. shower — to wash
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. current — of water
  11. pitch — completely
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. dip — to sink
  15. wound — an injury
  16. season — in sport
  17. scale — size or range
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. shower — rain
  21. scale — in music
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. season — of the year
  24. bat — the animal

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