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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. current — happening now
  3. lean — to bend
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. sharp — clever
  6. current — electric
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. spring — of water
  9. bat — the animal
  10. spring — the season
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. bound — obliged
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. bound — certain
  16. current — of water
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. chair — a leader
  19. scale — size or range
  20. scale — in music
  21. lean — thin
  22. spring — a coil
  23. bound — tied together
  24. lean — to rest against

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