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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. shower — rain
  4. cap — a lid
  5. ground — the earth
  6. current — of water
  7. ground — a position
  8. file — a tool
  9. current — happening now
  10. cap — a hat
  11. ground — crushed
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. cap — of ice
  14. file — a line of people
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. prune — to trim
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. file — a document
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. prune — to trim
  23. current — electric
  24. shower — to wash

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