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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. current — electric
  4. current — happening now
  5. current — of water
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. land — to come down
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. degree — temperature
  14. land — ground
  15. degree — from a university
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. season — in sport
  20. wake — a trail
  21. degree — an amount
  22. cold — not warm
  23. season — of the year
  24. arm — part of the body

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