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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. row — a line
  3. pit — a hole
  4. drill — army training
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. ground — crushed
  7. row — to paddle
  8. band — a music group
  9. craft — boats
  10. drill — a practice
  11. current — happening now
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. cold — an illness
  14. pit — in a race
  15. ground — a position
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. current — electric
  18. craft — a skill
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. drill — the tool
  21. current — of water
  22. cold — not warm
  23. band — a ring
  24. cold — the Cold War

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