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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: arm · bowl · season · current · last · fine · wound · fall

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. last — finally
  3. current — electric
  4. last — to go on
  5. season — in sport
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. current — happening now
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. fine — high quality
  12. season — of the year
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — an injury
  15. fine — all right
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. fall — the season
  20. last — final
  21. current — of water
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bowl — to roll
  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