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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. spring — of water
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. degree — an amount
  5. spring — a coil
  6. current — electric
  7. current — happening now
  8. bank — for money
  9. current — of water
  10. hand — help
  11. bank — of a river
  12. spring — the season
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. present — a gift
  16. present — there
  17. degree — from a university
  18. wax — to grow
  19. present — the time now
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. degree — temperature
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. pitcher — a jug

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