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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. degree — an amount
  3. current — of water
  4. current — electric
  5. land — a country
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. bound — certain
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. bound — tied together
  10. current — happening now
  11. degree — temperature
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. land — ground
  14. march — the month
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. chair — a leader
  18. bound — obliged
  19. fall — the season
  20. degree — from a university
  21. march — the month
  22. land — to come down
  23. march — music
  24. fall — to drop

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