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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 116 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: straw · current · wave · plane · bank · row · cold · chair

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. bank — for money
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. plane — a tool
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. row — a line
  13. row — to paddle
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bank — for money
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. current — electric
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. chair — a leader
  23. current — of water
  24. bank — of a river

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