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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. land — to come down
  4. chest — a box
  5. land — ground
  6. press — to push
  7. bat — the animal
  8. press — newspapers
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. chest — of your body
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. current — of water
  13. club — for golf
  14. cell — in biology
  15. press — a publisher
  16. lie — to recline
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cell — a phone
  19. club — a group
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. club — for dancing
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. current — happening now
  24. land — a country

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