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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. cold — an illness
  3. current — electric
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. bound — obliged
  6. current — of water
  7. tube — the underground
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. drill — army training
  10. drill — the tool
  11. row — a line
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. tube — a container
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. ground — crushed
  17. ground — the earth
  18. bound — certain
  19. current — happening now
  20. cold — not warm
  21. drill — a practice
  22. row — to paddle
  23. nail — on a finger
  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