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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. degree — from a university
  3. board — a committee
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. current — happening now
  6. ground — a position
  7. fall — to drop
  8. degree — temperature
  9. drill — the tool
  10. fall — to drop
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. ground — the earth
  13. current — electric
  14. fall — the season
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — to wash
  17. board — to get on
  18. drill — a practice
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. pound — a weight
  21. degree — an amount
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. drill — army training
  24. current — of water

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