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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. ball — a dance
  3. key — for a lock
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. file — a line of people
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. ball — a great time
  9. ground — crushed
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bore — to drill
  12. cold — an illness
  13. file — a document
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. current — happening now
  16. current — of water
  17. ground — the earth
  18. file — a tool
  19. current — electric
  20. bore — to tire
  21. key — in music
  22. cold — not warm
  23. key — the most important part
  24. bore — gave birth

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