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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. stock — shares
  4. current — of water
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. kick — in football
  7. file — a document
  8. lean — to bend
  9. rash — a series
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — help
  16. file — a tool
  17. rash — hasty
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. current — happening now
  20. chair — a leader
  21. stock — goods
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. file — a line of people
  24. lean — thin

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