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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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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. cold — not warm
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. kick — in football
  7. current — electric
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. key — the most important part
  11. current — happening now
  12. key — for a lock
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. cold — an illness
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. current — of water
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. key — in music
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. mouse — the animal

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