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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. current — happening now
  3. hand — help
  4. file — a tool
  5. ground — the earth
  6. land — a country
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. mug — a face
  9. ground — crushed
  10. mug — a cup
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. hand — in cards
  13. current — of water
  14. bark — to shout
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. file — a line of people
  17. ground — a position
  18. current — electric
  19. mug — to rob
  20. prune — to trim
  21. land — to come down
  22. prune — to trim
  23. file — a document
  24. bark — of a tree

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