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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 116 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. fall — to drop
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pit — a hole
  5. fall — to drop
  6. ground — a position
  7. current — happening now
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. rock — a stone
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. fall — the season
  12. current — of water
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. rush — hurry
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a line of people
  19. current — electric
  20. file — a document
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. ground — crushed
  23. ground — the earth
  24. pit — in a race

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