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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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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. current — of water
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. file — a document
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. game — wild animals
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. file — a tool
  13. file — a line of people
  14. pound — a weight
  15. degree — temperature
  16. stem — to come from
  17. degree — an amount
  18. current — electric
  19. foot — a measure
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. current — happening now
  22. bass — the fish
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. bass — low music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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