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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. prune — to trim
  3. firm — decided
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. current — of water
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. current — electric
  9. wind — moving air
  10. staff — employees
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. staff — a stick
  14. wind — moving air
  15. staff — employees
  16. degree — from a university
  17. firm — a company
  18. tube — a container
  19. current — happening now
  20. tube — the underground
  21. firm — steady
  22. prune — to trim
  23. degree — temperature
  24. tube — in a tire

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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