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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. race — the arms race
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. current — of water
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. current — happening now
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. clip — a video
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. clip — for paper
  16. race — humankind
  17. clip — to cut
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. race — a contest
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. chair — a leader
  22. current — electric
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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