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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.

Make a worksheet

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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. capital — money
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. capital — a city
  5. suit — to fit
  6. current — happening now
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. current — electric
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. file — a tool
  11. row — a line
  12. row — to paddle
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. suit — clothes
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. branch — a division
  19. suit — in cards
  20. chair — a leader
  21. file — a document
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. current — of water
  24. file — a line of people

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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