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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 · hand · season · bore · chip · swing · pop · land

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. bore — to tire
  3. season — in sport
  4. hand — help
  5. current — of water
  6. pop — music
  7. land — to come down
  8. chip — to eat
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. current — electric
  11. season — of the year
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. pop — to visit
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. swing — in golf
  16. pop — soda
  17. chip — for betting
  18. current — happening now
  19. bore — to drill
  20. hand — in cards
  21. land — ground
  22. swing — music
  23. land — a country
  24. hand — part of the body

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