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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. staff — employees
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. fork — in a road
  7. date — the fruit
  8. current — electric
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. current — of water
  11. staff — a stick
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. row — a line
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. row — to paddle
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. chair — a leader
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. staff — employees
  22. kid — child
  23. current — happening now
  24. chair — a professorship

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