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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. degree — an amount
  4. band — a music group
  5. wake — a trail
  6. current — happening now
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. can — to be able to
  9. face — to confront
  10. current — of water
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — temperature
  13. current — electric
  14. spring — of water
  15. can — a tin
  16. can — a tin
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — the season
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. face — part of the head
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. band — a ring
  24. face — to point toward

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