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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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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. current — happening now
  3. current — electric
  4. stock — goods
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. present — there
  12. stock — shares
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. present — a gift
  15. press — to push
  16. cold — an illness
  17. current — of water
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. press — newspapers
  20. cold — not warm
  21. press — a publisher
  22. present — the time now
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. row — a line

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