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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. field — for sport
  3. current — happening now
  4. degree — from a university
  5. pop — music
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. shower — to wash
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. degree — an amount
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. degree — temperature
  12. shower — rain
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — a subject
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. pop — to visit
  19. current — of water
  20. kick — in football
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. current — electric
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. fan — a supporter

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