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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: drill · season · rock · cold · mine · scale · can · current

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. mine — for digging
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. current — electric
  7. season — of the year
  8. current — of water
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. drill — army training
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. season — in sport
  13. rock — a stone
  14. drill — the tool
  15. rock — music
  16. drill — a practice
  17. can — to be able to
  18. cold — not warm
  19. current — happening now
  20. scale — size or range
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. can — a tin
  23. scale — in music
  24. can — a tin

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