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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 120 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. current — of water
  3. current — electric
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. key — the most important part
  7. pitch — completely
  8. degree — an amount
  9. cell — a phone
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. rest — a break
  14. current — happening now
  15. pass — a permit
  16. rest — what's left
  17. degree — from a university
  18. rest — what's left
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. key — for a lock
  22. key — in music
  23. rock — a stone
  24. degree — temperature

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