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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. current — electric
  3. bound — certain
  4. cold — not warm
  5. root — of a word
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. current — of water
  8. root — of a plant
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. bound — tied together
  11. object — an aim
  12. cold — an illness
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. object — a thing
  15. game — wild animals
  16. bound — obliged
  17. mine — for digging
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — a match
  21. root — the cause
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. object — to protest
  24. mine — an explosive

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