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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.

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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. current — of water
  3. current — electric
  4. present — a gift
  5. bound — tied together
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. pit — a hole
  8. current — happening now
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bound — obliged
  11. present — the time now
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. land — to come down
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. bound — certain
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. present — there
  20. snap — to click
  21. cold — an illness
  22. pit — in a race
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. land — a country

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