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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: current · dip · march · land · file · hide · present · chip

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. march — music
  4. land — a country
  5. march — the month
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. current — happening now
  8. chip — for betting
  9. march — the month
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. current — of water
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. present — a gift
  14. dip — to sink
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. current — electric
  17. present — there
  18. file — a document
  19. land — to come down
  20. file — a line of people
  21. chip — to eat
  22. file — a tool
  23. present — the time now
  24. chip — in a computer

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