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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. present — a gift
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. shower — to wash
  7. lean — to bend
  8. bat — the animal
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. lean — thin
  11. track — to keep track
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. shower — rain
  15. current — happening now
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. present — the time now
  18. current — electric
  19. current — of water
  20. track — a song
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. track — a path
  23. chair — a leader
  24. lean — to rest against

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