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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. object — an aim
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — child
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. current — electric
  7. rash — a series
  8. degree — an amount
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — finally
  11. degree — from a university
  12. object — to protest
  13. object — a thing
  14. stock — goods
  15. rash — hasty
  16. current — of water
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. degree — temperature
  19. last — final
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — shares
  22. squash — the sport
  23. squash — to crush
  24. current — happening now

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