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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. rush — hurry
  3. current — happening now
  4. scale — in music
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. ground — a position
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. current — electric
  10. row — to paddle
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. current — of water
  13. pound — a weight
  14. scale — size or range
  15. rock — a stone
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. ground — the earth
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — an illness
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. rock — music
  23. row — a line
  24. rush — a thrill

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