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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. land — ground
  5. land — a country
  6. plane — a tool
  7. game — a match
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. stand — to bear
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. cold — not warm
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. season — in sport
  15. current — happening now
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. date — the fruit
  18. land — to come down
  19. game — wild animals
  20. current — of water
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. current — electric

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