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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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Word bank
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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. cell — a phone
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — from a university
  6. current — electric
  7. mug — a cup
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. degree — temperature
  10. current — happening now
  11. mate — a partner
  12. chair — a leader
  13. game — wild animals
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. mate — to breed
  17. mug — to rob
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. tear — from crying
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. game — a match
  22. mug — a face
  23. mate — a friend
  24. cell — in biology

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