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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 124 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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. current — electric
  3. rest — what's left
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. current — of water
  8. rest — what's left
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. net — for catching
  11. chair — a leader
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. rest — a break
  14. net — after costs
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. swing — in golf
  17. game — a match
  18. game — wild animals
  19. net — in sport
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. plane — a tool
  22. swing — to play on
  23. swing — music
  24. current — happening now

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