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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. current — happening now
  3. foot — a measure
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — from crying
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. bat — the animal
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. snap — to click
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. current — of water
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. tear — to rip
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. dip — to sink
  24. current — electric

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