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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 120 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 · game · craft · season · lie · band · content · club

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. lie — to recline
  3. band — a ring
  4. club — for golf
  5. season — of the year
  6. band — a music group
  7. game — wild animals
  8. club — for dancing
  9. current — electric
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. club — a group
  13. content — happy
  14. game — a match
  15. craft — a skill
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. current — of water
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. content — the amount
  22. current — happening now
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. season — in sport

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