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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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Word bank
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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. ground — crushed
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. cell — in biology
  5. saw — the tool
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. cell — a phone
  8. rush — hurry
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. degree — an amount
  11. current — of water
  12. saw — the tool
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. ground — a position
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. degree — from a university
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. chair — a leader
  21. degree — temperature
  22. ground — the earth
  23. current — happening now
  24. current — electric

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