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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. rock — a stone
  4. current — happening now
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. chair — a leader
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. current — of water
  9. wind — moving air
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. current — electric
  13. wind — moving air
  14. rock — music
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. wound — an injury
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. wound — an injury
  21. stem — to come from
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. chair — to sit on

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