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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 116 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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. squash — to crush
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. rash — a series
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. lie — to recline
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. current — happening now
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. season — in sport
  16. cell — in biology
  17. rash — hasty
  18. squash — the sport
  19. current — of water
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. current — electric
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — an illness

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