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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — for digging
  5. current — of water
  6. current — happening now
  7. chip — to eat
  8. chip — for betting
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. hand — help
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. hand — in cards
  15. board — to get on
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. cold — not warm
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. current — electric
  23. board — a committee
  24. ruler — for measuring

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