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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: chair · game · wound · current · nail · drill · land · firm

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. current — of water
  3. drill — army training
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. wound — an injury
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. chair — a leader
  12. land — a country
  13. wound — an injury
  14. firm — steady
  15. drill — a practice
  16. land — ground
  17. game — wild animals
  18. land — to come down
  19. drill — the tool
  20. firm — a company
  21. game — a match
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. current — electric
  24. current — happening now

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