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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. current — electric
  3. current — of water
  4. ground — the earth
  5. game — a match
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. staff — a stick
  8. staff — employees
  9. file — a document
  10. hand — help
  11. game — wild animals
  12. file — a line of people
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. rush — hurry
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. current — happening now
  18. staff — employees
  19. hand — in cards
  20. file — a tool
  21. perch — the fish
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. ground — a position
  24. rush — a thrill

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