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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 124 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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Word bank
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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. current — of water
  3. face — part of the head
  4. cell — in biology
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. kid — to tease
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. prune — to trim
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. row — a line
  11. current — electric
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. face — to point toward
  14. kid — child
  15. chair — a leader
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. face — to confront
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. row — to paddle
  21. prune — to trim
  22. current — happening now
  23. cell — a phone
  24. chair — to sit on

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