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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 120 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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. ground — the earth
  3. current — happening now
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. foot — a measure
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. pit — in a race
  10. pit — a hole
  11. current — electric
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. drill — army training
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. ground — a position
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kid — child
  18. wound — an injury
  19. drill — the tool
  20. current — of water
  21. wound — an injury
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. drill — a practice
  24. ground — crushed

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