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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 120 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. perch — the fish
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. current — happening now
  5. kid — to tease
  6. file — a tool
  7. current — electric
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. file — a document
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. kid — child
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. land — a country
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. chair — a leader
  20. current — of water
  21. land — ground
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. file — a line of people

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