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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 116 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. craft — a skill
  5. cold — an illness
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. current — of water
  8. wind — moving air
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. current — electric
  11. degree — an amount
  12. bulb — for light
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. bulb — for light
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — from a university
  19. craft — boats
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. mark — a trace
  22. wind — moving air
  23. mark — a grade
  24. current — happening now

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