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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: wake · current · spell · craft · ground · pass · cold · wound

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. ground — the earth
  3. spell — a short time
  4. current — happening now
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. ground — a position
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. craft — a skill
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. wound — an injury
  11. current — electric
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. craft — boats
  14. ground — crushed
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. spell — magic
  17. pass — a permit
  18. spell — letters
  19. wound — an injury
  20. cold — not warm
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. cold — an illness
  23. wake — a trail
  24. current — of water

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