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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. chair — a leader
  3. roll — a list
  4. clip — a video
  5. stock — goods
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. clip — for paper
  8. roll — a cake
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. game — wild animals
  12. game — a match
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. dip — to sink
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. current — happening now
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. current — of water
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. stock — shares
  24. clip — to cut

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