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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. net — for catching
  5. present — a gift
  6. current — happening now
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. net — after costs
  10. squash — the sport
  11. cell — a phone
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. present — there
  15. cell — in biology
  16. chair — a leader
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. present — the time now
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. stand — to bear
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. squash — to crush
  23. net — in sport
  24. current — of water

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