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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. ground — a position
  3. board — to get on
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. ground — crushed
  6. land — to come down
  7. stock — goods
  8. current — happening now
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. current — of water
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. stock — shares
  13. shower — to wash
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — child
  16. board — a committee
  17. land — a country
  18. ground — the earth
  19. shower — rain
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. wind — moving air
  22. current — electric
  23. wind — moving air
  24. land — ground

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