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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: key · chair · hide · current · mouse · net · ground · shower

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. key — the most important part
  4. shower — rain
  5. ground — a position
  6. key — for a lock
  7. net — after costs
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. net — in sport
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. key — in music
  15. ground — crushed
  16. current — happening now
  17. shower — to wash
  18. net — for catching
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. ground — the earth
  21. current — electric
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. current — of water

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