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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. land — ground
  5. mate — a partner
  6. land — to come down
  7. mate — a friend
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. current — of water
  10. cap — a lid
  11. spring — a coil
  12. cap — of ice
  13. current — happening now
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. sharp — clever
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — of water
  19. dip — to sink
  20. land — a country
  21. cap — a hat
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. mate — to breed

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