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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. current — happening now
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. bore — to tire
  5. cap — a hat
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. degree — temperature
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. current — of water
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bore — to drill
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. current — electric
  18. cap — of ice
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. degree — from a university
  21. cap — a lid
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. wave — of the sea

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