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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. current — electric
  5. squash — to crush
  6. capital — money
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. lie — to recline
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. cold — an illness
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. squash — the sport
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. current — of water
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. cold — not warm
  21. chair — a leader
  22. wake — a trail
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. capital — a city

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