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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. current — electric
  3. current — happening now
  4. row — a line
  5. band — a music group
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. season — in sport
  9. file — a line of people
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. band — a ring
  12. file — a document
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. row — to paddle
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. chest — of your body
  19. current — of water
  20. file — a tool
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. season — of the year
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. chair — a professorship

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