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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ground · perch · cold · file · stick · rule · current · spell

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. rule — government
  3. file — a document
  4. current — of water
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. rule — a law
  8. file — a tool
  9. perch — the fish
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. ground — a position
  13. cold — not warm
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. spell — magic
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. file — a line of people
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. ground — crushed
  20. current — electric
  21. current — happening now
  22. cold — an illness
  23. spell — letters
  24. spell — a short time

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