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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wound · chip · hand · current · cell · wind · mug · season

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. mug — to rob
  3. cell — a phone
  4. wind — moving air
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. season — of the year
  7. cell — in biology
  8. current — of water
  9. wound — an injury
  10. chip — for betting
  11. mug — a cup
  12. wind — moving air
  13. hand — help
  14. chip — to eat
  15. wound — an injury
  16. current — happening now
  17. current — electric
  18. hand — in cards
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. mug — a face
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. season — in sport

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