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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. shower — to wash
  4. chair — a leader
  5. land — to come down
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. land — ground
  9. rock — a stone
  10. land — a country
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. bear — the animal
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. rock — music
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. shower — rain
  22. bear — the animal
  23. current — of water
  24. current — happening now

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