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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 · dip · saw · face · cold · current · wound · rash

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. face — part of the head
  3. ground — crushed
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — an injury
  8. face — to point toward
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. saw — the tool
  11. rash — hasty
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. saw — the tool
  15. dip — to sink
  16. rash — a series
  17. current — happening now
  18. ground — the earth
  19. ground — a position
  20. face — to confront
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. cold — an illness
  23. current — of water
  24. current — electric

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