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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. prune — to trim
  3. cold — not warm
  4. rest — a break
  5. mug — a face
  6. rest — what's left
  7. saw — the tool
  8. prune — to trim
  9. saw — the tool
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. mug — a cup
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. current — of water
  18. chair — a leader
  19. rush — hurry
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. cold — an illness
  22. current — electric
  23. rest — what's left
  24. current — happening now

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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