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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chair · stick · current · press · tear · tube

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. tear — from crying
  6. press — a publisher
  7. tear — from crying
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. press — to push
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. current — happening now
  14. press — newspapers
  15. tube — the underground
  16. tube — a container
  17. chair — a leader
  18. current — electric

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