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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  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. chair — a leader
  2. vault — a safe
  3. cold — not warm
  4. current — of water
  5. season — in sport
  6. prune — to trim
  7. current — electric
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. rest — a break
  10. season — of the year
  11. row — a line
  12. cold — an illness
  13. row — to paddle
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. current — happening now
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. rest — what's left
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. rest — what's left
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — the fruit
  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