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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. ground — crushed
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. ground — a position
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. club — for golf
  7. march — the month
  8. club — for dancing
  9. content — happy
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. bark — to shout
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. club — a group
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. current — of water
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. march — music
  20. current — electric
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. march — the month
  23. ground — the earth
  24. content — the amount

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