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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.

Make a worksheet

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: cold · chest · mine · current · mate · plane · season · lash

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. current — of water
  3. cold — not warm
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. plane — a tool
  7. mate — a friend
  8. mate — a partner
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. chest — of your body
  11. season — in sport
  12. current — electric
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. chest — a box
  15. cold — an illness
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. mate — to breed
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. season — of the year
  23. mine — for digging
  24. chest — of your body

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