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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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. rash — a series
  3. current — electric
  4. degree — from a university
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. present — there
  7. current — happening now
  8. rash — hasty
  9. mate — a friend
  10. mate — a partner
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. mate — to breed
  13. branch — a division
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. cell — a phone
  16. degree — an amount
  17. present — a gift
  18. degree — temperature
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. current — of water
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — in biology
  24. present — the time now

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