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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. chest — of your body
  3. current — electric
  4. chest — of your body
  5. present — there
  6. degree — from a university
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. degree — an amount
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. current — of water
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. present — a gift
  13. chest — a box
  14. court — of law
  15. present — the time now
  16. face — to confront
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. face — to point toward
  20. face — part of the head
  21. current — happening now
  22. court — for sport
  23. degree — temperature
  24. court — of a king

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