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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. current — electric
  3. spell — magic
  4. pop — to visit
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. spell — letters
  7. cold — not warm
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. current — happening now
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. ground — a position
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ground — crushed
  16. pop — soda
  17. mine — for digging
  18. cold — an illness
  19. pop — music
  20. spell — a short time
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. current — of water
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. cabinet — ministers

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