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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — a box
  5. wake — a trail
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. current — electric
  8. chest — of your body
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. land — ground
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. staff — employees
  13. staff — a stick
  14. sharp — clever
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. bound — obliged
  17. chair — a leader
  18. staff — employees
  19. land — to come down
  20. bound — tied together
  21. land — a country
  22. bound — certain
  23. current — happening now
  24. sharp — exactly

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