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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bulb — for light
  5. kick — in football
  6. current — happening now
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. staff — employees
  9. bulb — for light
  10. hand — in cards
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — child
  13. file — a document
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. current — electric
  16. chair — a leader
  17. staff — employees
  18. current — of water
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. staff — a stick
  21. hand — help
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a tool
  24. hand — part of the body

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