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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: chair · bat · bear · fall · rush · current · game · wound

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. current — of water
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. rush — hurry
  5. wound — an injury
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. wound — an injury
  8. game — wild animals
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — the season
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. bat — the animal
  13. game — a match
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. fall — to drop
  17. current — happening now
  18. chair — a leader
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bear — the animal
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. current — electric

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