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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. cold — not warm
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. shower — rain
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. pass — a permit
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. shower — to wash
  10. current — of water
  11. charge — a price
  12. mine — for digging
  13. chair — a leader
  14. charge — in control
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. net — after costs
  17. current — happening now
  18. charge — electricity
  19. current — electric
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. net — in sport
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. cold — an illness

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