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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. wind — moving air
  3. race — humankind
  4. march — the month
  5. wind — moving air
  6. current — happening now
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. race — the arms race
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. march — the month
  14. chip — for betting
  15. cell — a phone
  16. current — of water
  17. march — music
  18. race — a contest
  19. cell — in biology
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. bat — the animal
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. current — electric
  24. chip — to eat

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