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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 116 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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. current — of water
  3. cold — an illness
  4. shower — to wash
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. game — wild animals
  7. current — happening now
  8. game — a match
  9. shower — rain
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. chip — for betting
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. rash — a series
  17. rash — hasty
  18. cold — not warm
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. current — electric
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. bass — the fish
  24. bass — low music

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