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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: cue · chair · chest · row · object · net · current · stand

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. net — after costs
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. net — in sport
  5. cue — a hint
  6. current — happening now
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. object — to protest
  11. object — an aim
  12. chair — a leader
  13. cue — a signal
  14. row — a line
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. net — for catching
  17. row — to paddle
  18. stand — to bear
  19. chest — a box
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. current — of water
  23. cue — for pool
  24. object — a thing

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