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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.

Make a worksheet

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: wind · chair · present · current · cap · row

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. cap — of ice
  4. row — to paddle
  5. chair — a leader
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cap — a lid
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. present — the time now
  10. cap — a hat
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. present — a gift
  13. current — happening now
  14. wind — moving air
  15. row — a line
  16. present — there
  17. current — of water
  18. chair — a professorship

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