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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. cold — not warm
  3. lean — thin
  4. current — electric
  5. stock — goods
  6. lean — to bend
  7. race — humankind
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. cold — an illness
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. chip — for betting
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. current — happening now
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. current — of water
  20. race — the arms race
  21. chip — to eat
  22. stock — shares
  23. race — a contest
  24. chair — a leader

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