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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. shower — to wash
  4. current — electric
  5. chair — a leader
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. court — of law
  10. current — of water
  11. court — for sport
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. court — of a king
  14. current — happening now
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. mine — for digging
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — employees
  19. staff — a stick
  20. kid — to tease
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. kid — child
  23. shower — rain
  24. mine — an explosive

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