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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. current — happening now
  4. current — of water
  5. current — electric
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. ground — the earth
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. file — a line of people
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — farmland
  14. file — a tool
  15. lie — to recline
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. ground — a position
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. file — a document
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — not warm
  23. field — for sport
  24. stand — to bear

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