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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. branch — a division
  5. chair — a leader
  6. sharp — clever
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wind — moving air
  9. current — of water
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. roll — a cake
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. roll — a list
  19. current — electric
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. content — the amount
  22. wind — moving air
  23. content — happy
  24. branch — of a bank

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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