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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. can — a tin
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — of water
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. craft — a skill
  9. rest — what's left
  10. can — a tin
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — not warm
  13. current — happening now
  14. craft — boats
  15. current — electric
  16. current — of water
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. can — to be able to
  19. spring — the season
  20. rest — a break
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. rest — what's left
  24. craft — a handicraft

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