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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. swing — to play on
  3. current — of water
  4. mug — to rob
  5. swing — in golf
  6. cell — in biology
  7. current — happening now
  8. cold — not warm
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. current — electric
  11. swing — music
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. land — ground
  14. land — a country
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. mug — a face
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. land — to come down
  20. cell — a phone
  21. chip — for betting
  22. plane — a tool
  23. mug — a cup
  24. plane — an aircraft

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