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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 116 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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. current — electric
  3. current — of water
  4. hand — in cards
  5. prune — to trim
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. land — ground
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. prune — to trim
  11. hand — help
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. land — a country
  14. current — happening now
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. perch — the fish
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. branch — a division
  22. land — to come down
  23. chip — to eat
  24. chip — in a computer

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