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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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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: current · wind · kid · last · chair · season · root · bulb

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. last — final
  5. season — in sport
  6. bulb — for light
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. wind — moving air
  9. chair — a leader
  10. last — to go on
  11. last — finally
  12. bulb — for light
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. current — electric
  15. wind — moving air
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. root — the cause
  18. kid — child
  19. current — happening now
  20. kid — to tease
  21. root — of a plant
  22. current — of water
  23. root — of a word
  24. season — to add flavour

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