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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: club · season · current · nail · kid · face · ground · row

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. season — in sport
  4. season — of the year
  5. row — a line
  6. ground — crushed
  7. row — to paddle
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. face — to point toward
  10. club — for dancing
  11. club — for golf
  12. face — to confront
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. face — part of the head
  15. club — a group
  16. current — of water
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. current — electric
  21. kid — to tease
  22. ground — a position
  23. kid — child
  24. ground — the earth

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