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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: chest · foot · bound · spell · cap · fork · current · ground

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. ground — crushed
  4. current — happening now
  5. spell — magic
  6. bound — obliged
  7. ground — the earth
  8. current — electric
  9. bound — tied together
  10. cap — a lid
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. spell — a short time
  13. chest — of your body
  14. cap — a hat
  15. spell — letters
  16. chest — a box
  17. cap — of ice
  18. chest — of your body
  19. current — of water
  20. bound — certain
  21. foot — a measure
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. fork — in a road

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