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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. current — happening now
  3. net — for catching
  4. land — to come down
  5. march — the month
  6. saw — the tool
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. chip — for betting
  9. net — after costs
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. rest — what's left
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. march — the month
  14. saw — the tool
  15. net — in sport
  16. land — a country
  17. rest — what's left
  18. current — electric
  19. current — of water
  20. march — music
  21. land — ground
  22. rest — a break
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. dip — to sink

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