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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. stock — shares
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. toast — bread
  6. rush — hurry
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. current — of water
  11. squash — the sport
  12. degree — an amount
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. squash — to crush
  17. stock — goods
  18. degree — temperature
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. current — happening now
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. stand — to bear
  23. plane — a tool
  24. degree — from a university

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