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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. ground — the earth
  3. bass — the fish
  4. ground — crushed
  5. current — electric
  6. net — for catching
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. current — of water
  9. cold — not warm
  10. net — in sport
  11. bass — low music
  12. cold — an illness
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. spring — of water
  18. net — after costs
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. spring — a coil
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. current — happening now
  24. ground — a position

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