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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 120 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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. game — wild animals
  3. mark — a grade
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. mark — a trace
  6. current — electric
  7. cell — a phone
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. face — to point toward
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. chip — to eat
  13. chip — for betting
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. current — happening now
  20. face — to confront
  21. face — part of the head
  22. sharp — clever
  23. game — a match
  24. cell — in biology

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