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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  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. game — wild animals
  2. current — happening now
  3. current — electric
  4. chair — a leader
  5. tear — from crying
  6. track — to keep track
  7. game — a match
  8. file — a tool
  9. file — a line of people
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. last — finally
  13. file — a document
  14. current — of water
  15. last — final
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. track — a path
  19. track — a song
  20. last — to go on
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. snap — to click
  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