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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. track — a song
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. ground — the earth
  6. row — to paddle
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. current — happening now
  9. current — electric
  10. track — a path
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. ground — a position
  13. ground — crushed
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. current — of water
  17. bark — to shout
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. track — to keep track
  22. dip — to sink
  23. row — a line
  24. pitcher — a jug

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