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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. current — of water
  3. chip — for betting
  4. current — electric
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. plane — a tool
  7. face — part of the head
  8. wound — an injury
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. chip — to eat
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. tear — from crying
  13. face — to confront
  14. wound — an injury
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. tear — to rip
  17. face — to point toward
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. tear — from crying
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — the fish

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