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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. scale — size or range
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. press — newspapers
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. current — of water
  7. fork — in a road
  8. squash — to crush
  9. ball — a great time
  10. chair — a leader
  11. press — a publisher
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. press — to push
  15. ball — a dance
  16. scale — in music
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — the animal
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. squash — the sport
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. current — happening now

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