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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bark — to shout
  4. chip — for betting
  5. lie — to recline
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. chip — to eat
  11. mate — a partner
  12. mate — a friend
  13. current — happening now
  14. chair — a leader
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. current — of water
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. mate — to breed
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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