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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. current — electric
  3. saw — the tool
  4. wind — moving air
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. file — a document
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. wake — a trail
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. chip — for betting
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. stem — to come from
  17. wind — moving air
  18. current — happening now
  19. saw — the tool
  20. file — a line of people
  21. current — of water
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. file — a tool

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