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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. current — happening now
  3. current — electric
  4. stock — shares
  5. tear — from crying
  6. degree — temperature
  7. ground — crushed
  8. tear — to rip
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. tear — from crying
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. degree — from a university
  14. bound — certain
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. current — of water
  17. ground — a position
  18. bound — tied together
  19. stock — goods
  20. bound — obliged
  21. degree — an amount
  22. hand — in cards
  23. ground — the earth
  24. nail — for a hammer

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