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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 120 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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. band — a ring
  3. current — happening now
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. rest — what's left
  7. race — a contest
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. squash — the sport
  10. snap — to click
  11. race — the arms race
  12. squash — to crush
  13. current — electric
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. fork — in a road
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. band — a music group
  20. race — humankind
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. rest — a break
  23. current — of water
  24. rest — what's left

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