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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. ground — the earth
  4. hand — help
  5. current — electric
  6. ground — crushed
  7. ground — a position
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. spring — of water
  10. current — happening now
  11. current — of water
  12. spring — a coil
  13. spring — the season
  14. field — farmland
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. field — a subject
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. pitch — completely
  23. hand — in cards
  24. field — for sport

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