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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 124 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. cold — not warm
  3. current — electric
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — a box
  7. current — happening now
  8. land — a country
  9. cold — an illness
  10. current — of water
  11. land — ground
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. tube — the underground
  14. race — humankind
  15. chip — for betting
  16. tube — a container
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. chest — of your body
  19. pit — a hole
  20. race — a contest
  21. pit — in a race
  22. race — the arms race
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. chip — to eat

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