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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. wound — an injury
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. saw — the tool
  5. current — electric
  6. current — happening now
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. game — wild animals
  9. current — of water
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. land — to come down
  12. spring — the season
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. firm — a company
  15. saw — the tool
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. game — a match
  18. land — a country
  19. firm — decided
  20. spring — a coil
  21. firm — steady
  22. plane — a tool
  23. wound — an injury
  24. spring — of water

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