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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. chair — a leader
  4. current — electric
  5. scale — in music
  6. content — happy
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. row — a line
  12. scale — size or range
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. current — of water
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. row — to paddle
  21. content — the amount
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. row — a quarrel

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