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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. cell — a phone
  4. wound — an injury
  5. game — a match
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. ground — a position
  9. saw — the tool
  10. ground — crushed
  11. wound — an injury
  12. cell — in biology
  13. mug — a face
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. mug — to rob
  17. mug — a cup
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. current — happening now
  20. ground — the earth
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. game — wild animals
  23. current — electric
  24. saw — the tool

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