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

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. wind — moving air
  3. land — a country
  4. current — happening now
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. land — to come down
  7. lean — thin
  8. spring — the season
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. land — ground
  11. spring — of water
  12. bank — for money
  13. bank — of a river
  14. cold — an illness
  15. current — electric
  16. cold — not warm
  17. current — of water
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. wind — moving air
  20. spring — a coil
  21. lean — to bend
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. chip — to eat
  24. bank — for money

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