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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. current — happening now
  3. chair — a leader
  4. file — a line of people
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. current — of water
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. kid — to tease
  12. current — electric
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. file — a tool
  17. wound — an injury
  18. file — a document
  19. kid — child
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. rush — hurry
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. saw — past of 'see'

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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