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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. wind — moving air
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. wind — moving air
  5. degree — an amount
  6. mark — a grade
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. mark — a trace
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. current — happening now
  12. current — electric
  13. degree — temperature
  14. wound — an injury
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. degree — from a university
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. pass — a permit
  20. file — a tool
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. file — a document
  23. current — of water
  24. file — a line of people

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