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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. current — electric
  3. track — to keep track
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. degree — from a university
  6. track — a song
  7. current — of water
  8. degree — temperature
  9. land — ground
  10. track — a path
  11. bark — to shout
  12. current — happening now
  13. date — the fruit
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. band — a music group
  16. land — to come down
  17. mate — to breed
  18. land — a country
  19. band — a ring
  20. mate — a friend
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. degree — an amount

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