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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. hand — in cards
  5. degree — from a university
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. current — electric
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. mark — a trace
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. hand — help
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. date — the fruit
  16. degree — an amount
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. degree — temperature
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. current — happening now
  21. row — to paddle
  22. row — a line
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. mark — a grade

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