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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. saw — the tool
  3. current — happening now
  4. kid — child
  5. swing — music
  6. current — of water
  7. file — a document
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — crushed
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — to tease
  13. ground — the earth
  14. current — electric
  15. swing — in golf
  16. swing — to play on
  17. saw — the tool
  18. file — a line of people

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