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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · chest · plane · wound · stick · current · last · march

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. current — happening now
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. current — of water
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. ground — crushed
  8. march — the month
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. march — music
  13. ground — the earth
  14. ground — a position
  15. chest — a box
  16. plane — a tool
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. march — the month
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — finally
  22. chest — of your body
  23. current — electric
  24. chest — of your body

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