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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. lean — to bend
  3. wound — an injury
  4. club — a group
  5. club — for golf
  6. tube — a container
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. chip — to eat
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. march — the month
  11. wound — an injury
  12. club — for dancing
  13. current — happening now
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. current — electric
  16. march — music
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. tube — the underground
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. march — the month
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. current — of water
  24. chip — for betting

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