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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. current — of water
  3. ground — a position
  4. chest — of your body
  5. ground — the earth
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. chest — a box
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. current — happening now
  11. court — of law
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. file — a line of people
  15. current — electric
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. file — a document
  18. chest — of your body
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. court — for sport
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. court — of a king
  24. file — a tool

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