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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 116 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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. wind — moving air
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. mate — a partner
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. wind — moving air
  9. ground — a position
  10. current — electric
  11. current — of water
  12. mate — a friend
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. track — a path
  15. current — happening now
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. ground — the earth
  18. chair — a leader
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. ground — crushed
  21. track — a song
  22. mate — to breed
  23. kid — to tease
  24. kid — child

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