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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 · mine · scale · cue · land · cabinet · rash · last

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. last — final
  3. cue — for pool
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. land — to come down
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. mine — for digging
  8. current — happening now
  9. rash — hasty
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. cue — a signal
  14. scale — in music
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. last — to go on
  17. last — finally
  18. cue — a hint
  19. scale — size or range
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. land — ground
  22. current — electric
  23. land — a country
  24. rash — a series

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