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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 120 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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. current — electric
  3. wound — an injury
  4. content — the amount
  5. ground — the earth
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. ground — a position
  8. fork — in a road
  9. hand — in cards
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. hand — help
  12. wound — an injury
  13. ground — crushed
  14. current — of water
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. content — happy
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. wound — past of 'wind'

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