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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. staff — employees
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. craft — boats
  6. chair — a leader
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. net — for catching
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. net — after costs
  11. scale — size or range
  12. rash — a series
  13. scale — in music
  14. current — happening now
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. net — in sport
  17. rash — hasty
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. staff — a stick
  21. current — electric
  22. staff — employees
  23. craft — a skill
  24. rash — on the skin

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