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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. saw — the tool
  5. chest — a box
  6. spell — letters
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chip — to eat
  9. saw — the tool
  10. spell — magic
  11. current — happening now
  12. chip — for betting
  13. current — electric
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bore — to drill
  17. dip — to sink
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bore — to tire
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. chest — of your body
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. spell — a short time

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