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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. current — happening now
  5. current — of water
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. cell — a phone
  8. spring — of water
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. season — of the year
  11. current — electric
  12. shower — to wash
  13. season — in sport
  14. last — finally
  15. last — final
  16. shower — rain
  17. prune — to trim
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. prune — to trim
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. last — to go on
  22. spring — the season
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — in a prison

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