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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. current — electric
  3. current — happening now
  4. prune — to trim
  5. present — a gift
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. content — happy
  8. fork — in a road
  9. current — of water
  10. ground — crushed
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. chair — a leader
  13. ground — a position
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. content — the amount
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. ground — the earth
  21. present — the time now
  22. prune — to trim
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. present — there

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