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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. land — a country
  3. land — ground
  4. ground — the earth
  5. plane — a tool
  6. current — electric
  7. file — a tool
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. file — a document
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. ground — crushed
  13. squash — the sport
  14. land — to come down
  15. file — a line of people
  16. current — of water
  17. ground — a position
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. snap — to click
  20. wake — a trail
  21. squash — to crush
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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