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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 120 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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. degree — from a university
  3. current — happening now
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. wind — moving air
  6. mark — a trace
  7. ball — a great time
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wound — an injury
  10. current — of water
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. current — electric
  13. face — to confront
  14. wound — an injury
  15. fine — all right
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. degree — temperature
  18. face — part of the head
  19. degree — an amount
  20. wind — moving air
  21. face — to point toward
  22. ball — a dance
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. fine — high quality

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