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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. hand — help
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. hand — in cards
  9. row — to paddle
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chair — a leader
  12. current — electric
  13. wind — moving air
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. net — after costs
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. current — happening now
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. row — a line
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — in sport
  23. wind — moving air
  24. row — a quarrel

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