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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 116 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. shower — to wash
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. current — electric
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. squash — the sport
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. current — of water
  15. squash — to crush
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. shower — rain
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — to trim
  20. current — happening now
  21. saw — the tool
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. saw — the tool
  24. prune — the fruit

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