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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 120 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: swing · last · pit · current · kid · cell

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. current — of water
  3. last — finally
  4. swing — in golf
  5. pit — a hole
  6. kid — child
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — in biology
  11. swing — to play on
  12. swing — music
  13. current — happening now
  14. current — electric
  15. last — to go on
  16. kid — to tease
  17. cell — a phone
  18. pit — in a race

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