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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  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 — a professorship
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. board — a committee
  4. spell — a short time
  5. roll — a cake
  6. roll — a list
  7. current — happening now
  8. shower — to wash
  9. spell — magic
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. mate — a partner
  12. row — to paddle
  13. mate — to breed
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. mate — a friend
  16. chair — a leader
  17. spell — letters
  18. shower — rain
  19. board — to get on
  20. current — of water
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. row — a line
  23. board — a flat piece
  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