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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. face — to confront
  3. degree — an amount
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — an injury
  6. degree — temperature
  7. net — after costs
  8. net — for catching
  9. rash — a series
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. degree — from a university
  13. current — happening now
  14. ground — the earth
  15. face — part of the head
  16. net — in sport
  17. current — electric
  18. rash — hasty
  19. ground — a position
  20. face — to point toward
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. ground — crushed
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. leaves — to go away

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