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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 120 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. current — electric
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — to drop
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. mug — to rob
  8. current — of water
  9. sharp — clever
  10. fall — the season
  11. current — happening now
  12. mug — a face
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. hand — help
  15. degree — temperature
  16. mug — a cup
  17. degree — from a university
  18. sharp — with an edge

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