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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. dip — to sink
  3. drill — army training
  4. ground — a position
  5. current — happening now
  6. bass — the fish
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. cap — a lid
  9. ground — the earth
  10. current — of water
  11. current — electric
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. cap — a hat
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. ground — crushed
  19. bass — low music
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. drill — the tool
  22. cap — of ice
  23. drill — a practice
  24. bark — to shout

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