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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. last — final
  3. current — electric
  4. last — finally
  5. lean — to bend
  6. lean — thin
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. pop — to visit
  9. file — a tool
  10. last — to go on
  11. ground — crushed
  12. march — the month
  13. pop — music
  14. file — a document
  15. dip — to sink
  16. file — a line of people
  17. current — happening now
  18. ground — the earth
  19. march — the month
  20. current — of water
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. march — music
  23. pop — soda
  24. dip — a sauce

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