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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. bat — the animal
  6. degree — from a university
  7. mine — for digging
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. pop — music
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. current — electric
  12. current — of water
  13. pop — soda
  14. pop — to visit
  15. degree — an amount
  16. dip — to sink
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. staff — employees
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. current — happening now
  22. staff — employees
  23. staff — a stick
  24. degree — temperature

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