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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. hand — help
  3. current — electric
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. pound — a weight
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. current — of water
  9. degree — temperature
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. wound — an injury
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. degree — an amount
  15. wound — an injury
  16. mark — a trace
  17. mark — a grade
  18. degree — from a university
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. current — happening now
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. hand — in cards

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