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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. current — of water
  3. drill — army training
  4. fall — to drop
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. squash — to crush
  7. ball — a great time
  8. object — an aim
  9. drill — the tool
  10. degree — temperature
  11. squash — the sport
  12. fall — the season
  13. drill — a practice
  14. current — electric
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. object — to protest
  18. current — happening now
  19. degree — an amount
  20. ball — a dance
  21. object — a thing
  22. fall — to drop
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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