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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. firm — a company
  3. row — to paddle
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. net — for catching
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. race — a contest
  10. wake — a trail
  11. row — a line
  12. net — after costs
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. race — humankind
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. firm — steady
  17. net — in sport
  18. hand — in cards
  19. race — the arms race
  20. current — of water
  21. hand — help
  22. firm — decided
  23. current — happening now
  24. current — electric

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