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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. last — finally
  3. current — of water
  4. last — final
  5. current — happening now
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. last — to go on
  8. deal — to handle
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. current — electric
  12. tube — a container
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. tube — the underground
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — the animal
  21. season — in sport
  22. kid — child
  23. mine — for digging
  24. season — of the year

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