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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: march · mine · staff · row · chip · wound · ball · current

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. current — electric
  3. chip — to eat
  4. mine — for digging
  5. ball — a dance
  6. staff — a stick
  7. row — to paddle
  8. march — the month
  9. chip — for betting
  10. row — a line
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. march — the month
  14. wound — an injury
  15. staff — employees
  16. wound — an injury
  17. march — music
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. current — happening now
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. current — of water
  24. staff — employees

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