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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. ground — crushed
  3. current — electric
  4. ground — a position
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. face — to point toward
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. swing — to play on
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. current — happening now
  11. swing — music
  12. face — part of the head
  13. chair — a leader
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. current — of water
  16. wake — a trail
  17. squash — to crush
  18. face — to confront
  19. swing — in golf
  20. content — happy
  21. content — the amount
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. ground — the earth
  24. chair — a professorship

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