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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. cold — not warm
  3. current — of water
  4. vault — a safe
  5. lie — to recline
  6. game — a match
  7. chair — a leader
  8. current — electric
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. cold — an illness
  11. tube — a container
  12. bore — to drill
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. game — wild animals
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. bore — to tire
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. tube — the underground
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. lie — an untruth

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