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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 120 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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. face — to point toward
  3. current — of water
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — temperature
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. current — electric
  9. degree — an amount
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chair — a leader
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. track — a song
  14. current — happening now
  15. track — a path
  16. face — part of the head
  17. land — ground
  18. land — to come down
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. bat — the animal
  22. track — to keep track
  23. face — to confront
  24. land — a country

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