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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. squash — the sport
  3. land — ground
  4. current — happening now
  5. current — of water
  6. fork — in a road
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. spell — magic
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. spell — a short time
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. file — a tool
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. squash — to crush
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. current — electric
  19. file — a line of people
  20. spell — letters
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. file — a document
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. land — a country

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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