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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. band — a music group
  4. swing — in golf
  5. degree — an amount
  6. press — newspapers
  7. land — to come down
  8. swing — music
  9. land — ground
  10. last — final
  11. land — a country
  12. last — finally
  13. last — to go on
  14. degree — from a university
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. current — happening now
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. band — a ring
  20. press — a publisher
  21. current — electric
  22. degree — temperature
  23. press — to push
  24. swing — to play on

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