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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. row — to paddle
  3. prune — to trim
  4. chair — a leader
  5. current — of water
  6. rush — hurry
  7. hand — help
  8. face — part of the head
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. rest — what's left
  11. prune — to trim
  12. hand — in cards
  13. face — to point toward
  14. rest — a break
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. current — electric
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. row — a line
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. rest — what's left
  23. current — happening now
  24. face — to confront

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