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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. current — happening now
  4. wind — moving air
  5. field — farmland
  6. current — electric
  7. squash — to crush
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. lean — to bend
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. degree — temperature
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. degree — from a university
  19. field — for sport
  20. lean — thin
  21. current — of water
  22. squash — the sport
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. field — a subject

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