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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  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. sharp — clever
  2. fall — to drop
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. current — electric
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. land — to come down
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. fall — to drop
  12. wind — moving air
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. current — happening now
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. chip — for betting
  17. current — of water
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. chip — to eat
  20. wind — moving air
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. land — ground
  23. fall — the season
  24. land — a country

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