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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. ground — a position
  3. ground — crushed
  4. cold — not warm
  5. current — of water
  6. bass — low music
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. mug — a face
  9. cold — an illness
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. vault — a safe
  12. ground — the earth
  13. mug — a cup
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. current — electric
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. capital — a city
  19. mug — to rob
  20. current — happening now
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. capital — money
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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