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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. present — the time now
  3. last — final
  4. current — happening now
  5. last — to go on
  6. root — of a word
  7. present — a gift
  8. current — electric
  9. root — of a plant
  10. march — music
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. chip — to eat
  13. chip — for betting
  14. march — the month
  15. last — finally
  16. march — the month
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. root — the cause
  20. present — there
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — a coil
  23. bat — the animal
  24. spring — of water

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