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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. degree — from a university
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. fall — to drop
  5. spell — a short time
  6. spring — of water
  7. fall — the season
  8. degree — an amount
  9. spell — magic
  10. root — of a word
  11. current — electric
  12. degree — temperature
  13. fall — to drop
  14. spring — a coil
  15. current — happening now
  16. spell — letters
  17. rule — a law
  18. current — of water
  19. root — of a plant
  20. rule — government
  21. wound — an injury
  22. root — the cause
  23. spring — the season
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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