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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  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. fan — a supporter
  2. degree — from a university
  3. rule — a law
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. march — the month
  7. current — electric
  8. rock — music
  9. rock — a stone
  10. march — music
  11. march — the month
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. current — of water
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. rule — government
  17. wake — a trail
  18. degree — an amount
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. degree — temperature
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. wake — before a funeral
  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