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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. season — of the year
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. current — electric
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. saw — the tool
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. current — happening now
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. degree — from a university
  14. degree — an amount
  15. saw — the tool
  16. season — in sport
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. stand — to bear
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bark — to shout
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. degree — temperature
  24. current — of water

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