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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. chair — a leader
  3. rest — what's left
  4. cold — an illness
  5. mine — for digging
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. can — a tin
  8. kick — in football
  9. scale — size or range
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. rest — what's left
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. current — of water
  15. current — happening now
  16. can — to be able to
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. can — a tin
  22. current — electric
  23. scale — in music
  24. cold — not warm

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