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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  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 — of water
  2. tear — from crying
  3. ground — a position
  4. staff — employees
  5. vault — a safe
  6. chair — a leader
  7. current — electric
  8. ground — the earth
  9. bat — the animal
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. tear — to rip
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. ground — crushed
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — a phone
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. staff — employees
  22. tear — from crying
  23. staff — a stick
  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