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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. lie — to recline
  4. drill — a practice
  5. current — electric
  6. chip — to eat
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. land — to come down
  9. hand — in cards
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. land — ground
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. squash — to crush
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. current — of water
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. squash — the sport
  19. drill — army training
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. land — a country
  22. drill — the tool
  23. chip — for betting
  24. current — happening now

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