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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. spring — the season
  3. degree — an amount
  4. tube — the underground
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — a coil
  7. court — of law
  8. tube — a container
  9. current — electric
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. court — for sport
  12. mate — a partner
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. degree — temperature
  15. saw — the tool
  16. court — of a king
  17. mate — a friend
  18. suit — clothes
  19. suit — in cards
  20. suit — to fit
  21. degree — from a university
  22. current — of water
  23. saw — the tool
  24. current — happening now

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