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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. land — a country
  3. current — happening now
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. current — electric
  10. spring — of water
  11. shower — to wash
  12. bank — of a river
  13. land — to come down
  14. shower — rain
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — to come from
  17. snap — to click
  18. land — ground
  19. bank — for money
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — a coil
  23. bank — for money
  24. game — a match

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