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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  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. march — the month
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. staff — employees
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. chip — to eat
  7. cell — a phone
  8. staff — employees
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. current — of water
  11. chip — for betting
  12. march — the month
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. wind — moving air
  16. cell — in biology
  17. bat — the animal
  18. march — music
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wind — moving air
  21. current — electric
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. staff — a stick
  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