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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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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: season · mine · cell · tear · toast · club · race · current

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. club — a group
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. race — humankind
  6. season — in sport
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. current — electric
  9. tear — from crying
  10. club — for dancing
  11. mine — for digging
  12. season — of the year
  13. toast — bread
  14. tear — from crying
  15. club — for golf
  16. tear — to rip
  17. race — a contest
  18. cell — a phone
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. race — the arms race
  22. cell — in biology
  23. current — of water
  24. mine — belonging to me

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