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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. current — happening now
  3. tear — from crying
  4. field — a subject
  5. degree — from a university
  6. charge — electricity
  7. current — electric
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. charge — a price
  11. current — of water
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — farmland
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. degree — an amount
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. charge — in control
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. tear — to rip
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. degree — temperature
  24. cabinet — ministers

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