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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. pit — in a race
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. mine — for digging
  5. spell — letters
  6. net — for catching
  7. spell — a short time
  8. sharp — clever
  9. degree — temperature
  10. net — after costs
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. spell — magic
  13. degree — from a university
  14. degree — an amount
  15. current — happening now
  16. net — in sport
  17. cap — a lid
  18. pit — a hole
  19. current — of water
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cap — a hat
  24. mine — belonging to me

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