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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. degree — an amount
  4. current — electric
  5. row — a line
  6. date — the fruit
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. row — to paddle
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. shower — to wash
  16. mark — a trace
  17. degree — temperature
  18. shower — rain
  19. degree — from a university
  20. mark — a grade
  21. current — of water
  22. current — happening now
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. pitcher — a jug

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