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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. prune — to trim
  3. object — an aim
  4. fall — to drop
  5. club — for dancing
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. fall — to drop
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. chair — a leader
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. current — happening now
  15. fall — the season
  16. object — a thing
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. perch — the fish
  20. object — to protest
  21. wind — moving air
  22. club — for golf
  23. current — electric
  24. club — a group

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