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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. bank — of a river
  6. current — electric
  7. hand — help
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. capital — a city
  10. chair — a leader
  11. field — a subject
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. field — for sport
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. capital — money
  16. bank — for money
  17. current — happening now
  18. bank — for money
  19. kid — to tease
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. hand — in cards
  22. kid — child
  23. field — farmland
  24. calf — of the leg

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