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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 116 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. 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. mark — to pay attention
  2. court — of law
  3. current — electric
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. mark — a grade
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — an amount
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. snap — to click
  10. court — for sport
  11. fork — in a road
  12. mark — a trace
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. current — of water
  15. degree — temperature
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. court — of a king
  18. 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