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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  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. bat — for baseball
  2. chip — for betting
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. current — electric
  5. last — final
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. current — of water
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. last — to go on
  13. mine — for digging
  14. saw — the tool
  15. last — finally
  16. can — a tin
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. chip — to eat
  19. current — happening now
  20. saw — the tool
  21. can — to be able to
  22. can — a tin
  23. mine — belonging to me
  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