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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. current — happening now
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. current — of water
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. clip — to cut
  7. staff — a stick
  8. deal — to handle
  9. land — a country
  10. staff — employees
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. clip — a video
  13. game — wild animals
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. game — a match
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. land — ground
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. current — electric
  22. clip — for paper
  23. mine — for digging
  24. land — to come down

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