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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. tube — the underground
  3. rash — a series
  4. spring — the season
  5. club — for dancing
  6. chair — a leader
  7. spring — a coil
  8. fork — in a road
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. club — for golf
  11. current — happening now
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. current — of water
  16. tear — to rip
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. tube — a container
  19. tear — from crying
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. club — a group
  22. tear — from crying
  23. rash — hasty
  24. spring — of water

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