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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: dip · snap · spring · bowl · chair · current · straw · chest

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. chair — a leader
  3. current — electric
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. chest — a box
  7. current — of water
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. dip — to sink
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — the season
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. snap — to click
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. spring — a coil
  24. bowl — to roll

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