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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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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 · rest · lash · snap · cold · chip · net · current

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. rest — a break
  3. current — happening now
  4. snap — to click
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. wound — an injury
  8. current — electric
  9. rest — what's left
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. cold — an illness
  13. net — for catching
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. wound — an injury
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. rest — what's left
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. chip — to eat
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — not warm
  22. net — after costs
  23. chip — for betting
  24. net — 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