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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. dip — to sink
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. current — happening now
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. current — of water
  8. roll — a list
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. row — to paddle
  11. cold — not warm
  12. roll — a cake
  13. file — a line of people
  14. ground — the earth
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. file — a document
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. row — a line
  20. ground — crushed
  21. current — electric
  22. file — a tool
  23. ground — a position
  24. cold — an illness

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