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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. current — of water
  3. mate — a partner
  4. degree — an amount
  5. file — a line of people
  6. degree — from a university
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — rain
  9. mate — a friend
  10. current — electric
  11. present — a gift
  12. present — the time now
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. degree — temperature
  17. lean — thin
  18. file — a document
  19. current — happening now
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. present — there
  22. file — a tool
  23. lean — to bend
  24. mate — to breed

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