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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. current — electric
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. chip — to eat
  7. wake — a trail
  8. current — happening now
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. current — of water
  12. net — for catching
  13. lie — to recline
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. net — in sport
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. net — after costs
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. chip — for betting
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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