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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. march — music
  3. file — a tool
  4. rash — a series
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. rush — hurry
  7. ground — the earth
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. current — happening now
  10. content — happy
  11. current — electric
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. ground — a position
  17. rash — hasty
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. file — a document
  20. content — the amount
  21. current — of water
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. file — a line of people
  24. ground — crushed

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