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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. bat — the animal
  3. chair — a leader
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. march — the month
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. current — electric
  13. current — happening now
  14. march — music
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. mine — for digging
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. current — of water
  24. march — the month

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