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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 120 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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. current — electric
  3. season — of the year
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. current — happening now
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. vault — a safe
  8. fork — in a road
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. race — a contest
  13. current — of water
  14. wind — moving air
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. season — in sport
  18. wind — moving air
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — the animal
  22. chip — for betting
  23. race — humankind
  24. race — the arms race

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