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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: land · saw · season · mate · current · object · cap · hand

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. mate — to breed
  3. cap — a lid
  4. land — a country
  5. hand — in cards
  6. land — to come down
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. mate — a partner
  9. season — of the year
  10. current — happening now
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — the tool
  13. mate — a friend
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. object — to protest
  16. cap — a hat
  17. season — in sport
  18. hand — help
  19. object — an aim
  20. land — ground
  21. cap — of ice
  22. current — electric
  23. object — a thing
  24. current — of water

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