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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  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. pit — a hole
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. staff — a stick
  5. pit — in a race
  6. degree — temperature
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. staff — employees
  9. land — to come down
  10. spring — the season
  11. current — of water
  12. current — electric
  13. spring — of water
  14. prune — to trim
  15. degree — from a university
  16. spring — a coil
  17. land — a country
  18. land — ground
  19. current — happening now
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. prune — to trim
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. staff — employees
  24. degree — an amount

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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