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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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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 · last · game · band · chip · cell · wind · lean

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  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. last — to go on
  2. band — a music group
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cell — in biology
  5. band — a ring
  6. current — electric
  7. wind — moving air
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. current — of water
  12. lean — thin
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. current — happening now
  15. game — wild animals
  16. last — finally
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. last — final
  20. game — a match
  21. chip — for betting
  22. lean — to bend
  23. cell — in a prison
  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