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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  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. firm — decided
  2. ground — the earth
  3. ground — crushed
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — a coil
  6. craft — boats
  7. firm — steady
  8. current — electric
  9. club — for dancing
  10. file — a document
  11. club — a group
  12. current — of water
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. craft — a skill
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. cold — not warm
  17. ground — a position
  18. firm — a company
  19. current — happening now
  20. file — a line of people
  21. club — for golf
  22. spring — the season
  23. cold — an illness
  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