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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. capital — a city
  3. object — to protest
  4. season — in sport
  5. cue — a signal
  6. season — of the year
  7. cue — a hint
  8. saw — the tool
  9. object — a thing
  10. object — an aim
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. current — of water
  15. current — happening now
  16. cue — for pool
  17. cell — in biology
  18. capital — money
  19. shower — rain
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. current — electric
  23. cell — a phone
  24. shower — to wash

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