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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. club — a group
  3. chair — a leader
  4. kid — to tease
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. wound — an injury
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. club — for dancing
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. club — for golf
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. kid — child
  18. current — electric
  19. current — happening now
  20. lie — to recline
  21. sharp — clever
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. wound — an injury

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