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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. current — electric
  4. ground — crushed
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. key — the most important part
  9. key — in music
  10. current — happening now
  11. wind — moving air
  12. file — a tool
  13. wind — moving air
  14. file — a line of people
  15. key — for a lock
  16. ground — a position
  17. current — of water
  18. content — the amount
  19. root — of a word
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. content — happy
  22. root — of a plant
  23. root — the cause
  24. ground — the earth

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