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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: kid · ball · bear · ground · current · bowl · file · pit

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. ball — a great time
  4. current — electric
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. ball — a dance
  7. pit — in a race
  8. file — a tool
  9. pit — a hole
  10. kid — child
  11. file — a document
  12. ground — the earth
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. ground — a position
  16. bear — the animal
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bear — the animal
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. current — of water
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. current — happening now

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