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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  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. kid — to tease
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chair — a leader
  4. lean — thin
  5. row — to paddle
  6. lean — to bend
  7. current — of water
  8. kid — child
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. current — electric
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. current — happening now
  14. row — a line
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. band — a music group
  17. pit — a hole
  18. pit — in a race
  19. pound — a weight
  20. band — a ring
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  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