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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. current — of water
  3. land — ground
  4. current — electric
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. degree — from a university
  8. cold — an illness
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. current — happening now
  11. degree — an amount
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. land — a country
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. mate — a partner
  17. rush — hurry
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. prune — to trim
  20. mate — to breed
  21. land — to come down
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. degree — temperature
  24. cold — not warm

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