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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: roll · wound · current · stick · squash · cold · chip · swing

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. squash — the sport
  3. roll — a list
  4. wound — an injury
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. roll — a cake
  7. wound — an injury
  8. current — electric
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. chip — to eat
  12. swing — in golf
  13. cold — an illness
  14. swing — to play on
  15. chip — for betting
  16. cold — not warm
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. swing — music
  22. squash — to crush
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. current — of water

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