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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: jam · cold · ground · bass · current · squash · rest · drill

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. current — happening now
  3. cold — not warm
  4. drill — the tool
  5. drill — army training
  6. rest — a break
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. rest — what's left
  9. current — electric
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. ground — a position
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. cold — an illness
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. ground — crushed
  17. drill — a practice
  18. current — of water
  19. bass — the fish
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. rest — what's left
  22. ground — the earth
  23. squash — to crush
  24. bass — low music

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