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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. wind — moving air
  4. game — a match
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. current — happening now
  9. chip — for betting
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. current — electric
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. chip — to eat
  17. game — wild animals
  18. chest — a box

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