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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. current — happening now
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. cell — in biology
  5. chair — a leader
  6. clip — to cut
  7. key — for a lock
  8. current — electric
  9. key — in music
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. object — a thing
  12. clip — for paper
  13. rule — a law
  14. key — the most important part
  15. clip — a video
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. object — an aim
  18. object — to protest
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. rule — government
  22. scale — in music
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. current — of water

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