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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 116 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. current — electric
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. land — to come down
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. vault — a safe
  7. cold — an illness
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. degree — from a university
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. current — happening now
  14. land — a country
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. cold — not warm
  18. land — ground
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. degree — temperature
  22. degree — an amount
  23. current — of water
  24. snap — to click

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