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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. current — happening now
  4. degree — from a university
  5. land — a country
  6. bass — the fish
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. current — electric
  9. pitch — completely
  10. land — to come down
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. degree — temperature
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. race — humankind
  17. current — of water
  18. race — the arms race
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. bass — low music
  21. degree — an amount
  22. land — ground
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. race — a contest

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