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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. ground — the earth
  3. current — happening now
  4. current — electric
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — the season
  8. spell — magic
  9. file — a line of people
  10. file — a document
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. fall — to drop
  13. ground — a position
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. ground — crushed
  16. spell — a short time
  17. file — a tool
  18. spell — letters
  19. chip — to eat
  20. sharp — clever
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. chip — for betting

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