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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. current — happening now
  3. spring — a coil
  4. hand — help
  5. tear — from crying
  6. spring — of water
  7. current — electric
  8. land — ground
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. chip — for betting
  14. land — a country
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. hand — in cards
  17. spring — the season
  18. tear — to rip
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. chip — to eat
  21. land — to come down
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. current — of water
  24. tear — from crying

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