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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: cold · mine · dip · current · mouse · chip · saw · snap

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. cold — an illness
  3. mine — for digging
  4. cold — not warm
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. current — of water
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. chip — for betting
  11. snap — to click
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. current — happening now
  20. dip — to sink
  21. saw — the tool
  22. current — electric
  23. saw — the tool
  24. mine — belonging to me

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