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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. hand — help
  3. root — the cause
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. current — electric
  7. current — of water
  8. bound — obliged
  9. sharp — clever
  10. cold — not warm
  11. rule — government
  12. cold — an illness
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. bound — tied together
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. perch — the fish
  18. root — of a word
  19. rule — a law
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bound — certain
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. root — of a plant
  24. perch — for a bird

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