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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. last — to go on
  3. degree — from a university
  4. fall — to drop
  5. present — there
  6. file — a document
  7. last — finally
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. current — of water
  10. file — a tool
  11. rash — hasty
  12. fall — to drop
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rash — a series
  15. file — a line of people
  16. last — final
  17. chip — for betting
  18. present — a gift
  19. present — the time now
  20. current — happening now
  21. current — electric
  22. chip — to eat
  23. degree — an amount
  24. degree — temperature

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