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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · cold · land · deal · tube · chair · season · kick

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. season — in sport
  4. land — to come down
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. current — electric
  8. current — of water
  9. current — happening now
  10. tube — a container
  11. kick — in football
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. land — a country
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. cold — not warm
  19. chair — a leader
  20. season — of the year
  21. deal — to handle
  22. tube — the underground
  23. land — ground
  24. cold — an illness

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