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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. mug — a cup
  3. chair — a leader
  4. content — the amount
  5. last — finally
  6. mug — to rob
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. last — to go on
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. wind — moving air
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. mug — a face
  14. current — electric
  15. season — in sport
  16. snap — to click
  17. season — of the year
  18. current — of water
  19. last — final
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. content — happy
  23. current — happening now
  24. wind — moving air

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