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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. squash — to crush
  3. chair — a leader
  4. stock — goods
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. club — for golf
  10. dip — to sink
  11. current — of water
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. current — electric
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. club — for dancing
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. kid — to tease
  18. mine — for digging
  19. stock — shares
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. kid — child
  22. squash — the sport
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. club — a group

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