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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. degree — from a university
  3. current — electric
  4. tube — the underground
  5. scale — in music
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. last — final
  9. degree — an amount
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. pound — a weight
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. scale — size or range
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. current — of water
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. current — happening now
  21. last — finally
  22. degree — temperature
  23. last — to go on
  24. tube — a container

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