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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  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. present — the time now
  2. cell — a phone
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. tear — from crying
  8. current — electric
  9. current — happening now
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. cell — in biology
  12. current — of water
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. present — a gift
  15. chair — a leader
  16. scale — in music
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pound — a weight
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. tear — to rip
  22. scale — size or range
  23. chair — a professorship
  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