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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. pop — soda
  3. can — a tin
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. current — electric
  6. chair — a leader
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. can — a tin
  9. scale — size or range
  10. swing — to play on
  11. pop — music
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. pop — to visit
  15. rash — hasty
  16. cell — in biology
  17. rash — a series
  18. scale — in music
  19. swing — in golf
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. swing — music
  22. can — to be able to
  23. cell — a phone
  24. current — of water

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