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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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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: chest · race · chair · kick · jam · current · row · lean

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. row — to paddle
  4. chest — of your body
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. chest — a box
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. race — humankind
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. lean — to bend
  13. row — a line
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. chair — a leader
  16. lean — thin
  17. current — of water
  18. chest — of your body
  19. race — the arms race
  20. kick — in football
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. race — a contest
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. 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