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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. current — electric
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. season — of the year
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. pop — music
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. land — ground
  10. land — to come down
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. last — finally
  14. pop — to visit
  15. season — in sport
  16. land — a country
  17. current — happening now
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. current — of water
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. last — to go on
  23. pop — soda
  24. cabinet — ministers

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