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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. dip — to sink
  3. current — happening now
  4. rule — a law
  5. can — a tin
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. kid — to tease
  8. field — farmland
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. field — a subject
  11. track — a song
  12. current — of water
  13. can — a tin
  14. can — to be able to
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. track — a path
  17. track — to keep track
  18. kid — child
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. rule — government
  22. current — electric
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. field — for sport

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