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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: roll · cabinet · straw · hand · ground · current · chair · mine

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. 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 — happening now
  2. roll — a list
  3. hand — help
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. current — of water
  10. ground — the earth
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. current — electric
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. chair — a leader
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. ground — crushed
  17. hand — in cards
  18. ground — a position
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. mine — for digging
  23. roll — a cake
  24. 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