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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. saw — the tool
  3. ground — crushed
  4. current — electric
  5. last — final
  6. march — the month
  7. current — happening now
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. wound — an injury
  10. roll — a list
  11. ground — a position
  12. saw — the tool
  13. face — to confront
  14. march — the month
  15. wound — an injury
  16. march — music
  17. face — to point toward
  18. last — to go on
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. ground — the earth
  22. last — finally
  23. roll — a cake
  24. face — part of the head

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