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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 116 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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  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. net — after costs
  3. deal — to handle
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. wound — an injury
  6. face — to confront
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. drill — army training
  9. current — electric
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. face — part of the head
  12. current — of water
  13. mine — for digging
  14. wound — an injury
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. drill — a practice
  18. face — to point toward
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. drill — the tool
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — in sport
  23. current — happening now
  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