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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. shower — rain
  3. current — of water
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. rule — a law
  6. land — to come down
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — temperature
  9. land — a country
  10. field — farmland
  11. plane — a tool
  12. shower — to wash
  13. field — a subject
  14. current — electric
  15. field — for sport
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. land — ground
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. pitch — completely
  21. current — happening now
  22. rule — government
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. rule — to rule out

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