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

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. current — electric
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. ground — the earth
  5. press — a publisher
  6. ground — a position
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. current — of water
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. press — newspapers
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. current — happening now
  16. press — to push
  17. wake — a trail
  18. straw — a straw man

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