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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. chip — for betting
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — ground
  5. current — happening now
  6. bulb — for light
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bulb — for light
  9. last — finally
  10. file — a tool
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. current — of water
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tear — from crying
  15. chip — to eat
  16. file — a line of people
  17. last — final
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — an illness
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. cold — not warm
  22. last — to go on
  23. land — a country
  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