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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. current — of water
  3. scale — in music
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. ground — a position
  6. row — a line
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. ground — crushed
  9. current — happening now
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. cold — an illness
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. cold — not warm
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. current — electric
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. row — to paddle
  23. scale — size or range
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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