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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. current — of water
  3. chip — for betting
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. chip — to eat
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. wound — an injury
  8. current — happening now
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. current — electric
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — in cards
  13. wound — an injury
  14. pound — a weight
  15. file — a document
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. land — to come down
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. file — a tool
  20. hand — help
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. land — ground
  23. file — a line of people
  24. chip — in a computer

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