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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: bear · chair · cold · race · row · fan · pass · current

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bear — the animal
  5. current — happening now
  6. row — a line
  7. race — humankind
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. current — of water
  10. pass — a permit
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. race — a contest
  14. bear — the animal
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. cold — not warm
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. chair — a leader
  19. race — the arms race
  20. current — electric
  21. row — to paddle
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. chair — to sit on

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