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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: pop · shower · current · chair · wound · mark · cap · staff

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. mark — a trace
  3. wound — an injury
  4. mark — a grade
  5. cap — a hat
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. current — happening now
  8. cap — a lid
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — to wash
  11. cap — of ice
  12. staff — a stick
  13. shower — rain
  14. pop — music
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. current — electric
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. pop — soda
  19. current — of water
  20. wound — an injury
  21. staff — employees
  22. chair — a leader
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. staff — employees

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