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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. court — for sport
  3. scale — size or range
  4. current — happening now
  5. land — a country
  6. degree — from a university
  7. rash — a series
  8. land — to come down
  9. court — of law
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — an amount
  12. drill — a practice
  13. object — to protest
  14. object — an aim
  15. rash — hasty
  16. current — of water
  17. scale — in music
  18. drill — the tool
  19. drill — army training
  20. current — electric
  21. court — of a king
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. object — a thing
  24. land — ground

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