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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: wind · chair · present · current · cap · row · content · mouse

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. cap — a hat
  3. content — happy
  4. present — the time now
  5. content — the amount
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. current — of water
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. present — a gift
  10. row — a line
  11. current — happening now
  12. wind — moving air
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. cap — a lid
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. cap — of ice
  20. chair — a leader
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. current — electric
  23. row — to paddle
  24. present — there

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