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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. chair — a leader
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. current — happening now
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. game — wild animals
  9. march — the month
  10. snap — to click
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. shower — to wash
  13. march — music
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. rock — a stone
  17. current — electric
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. game — a match
  21. march — the month
  22. shower — rain
  23. rock — music
  24. straw — dry grass

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