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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. club — for dancing
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. hand — in cards
  6. current — of water
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. current — happening now
  9. hand — help
  10. club — for golf
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. last — finally
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. last — final
  16. current — electric
  17. chair — a leader
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. last — to go on
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. club — a group
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. wake — a trail

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