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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 · row · saw · date · current · object · cabinet · bass

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. object — to protest
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. row — to paddle
  6. object — a thing
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. row — a line
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. bass — low music
  11. object — an aim
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. saw — the tool
  14. bass — the fish
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. saw — the tool
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. current — electric
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. date — the fruit
  22. chair — a leader
  23. current — of water
  24. date — on the calendar

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