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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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Word bank
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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: cue · pitch · staff · chest · current · mine · rash · season

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. cue — a hint
  3. season — of the year
  4. chest — a box
  5. current — of water
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. staff — a stick
  8. cue — a signal
  9. chest — of your body
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. chest — of your body
  12. pitch — completely
  13. staff — employees
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. cue — for pool
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — a series
  19. mine — for digging
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. season — in sport
  22. current — happening now
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. staff — employees

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