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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. track — a path
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. current — of water
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. cold — an illness
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. ground — the earth
  9. object — to protest
  10. track — a song
  11. current — happening now
  12. degree — temperature
  13. ground — crushed
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — from a university
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. current — electric
  18. track — to keep track
  19. cold — not warm
  20. ground — a position
  21. object — a thing
  22. object — an aim
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. racket — for tennis

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