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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. degree — from a university
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. current — happening now
  6. degree — an amount
  7. present — a gift
  8. degree — temperature
  9. cell — in biology
  10. season — in sport
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. present — there
  13. mine — for digging
  14. present — the time now
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. cell — a phone
  18. current — of water
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. season — of the year
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — a monarch

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