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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 my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. swing — to play on
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. cap — a hat
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. current — electric
  7. rush — hurry
  8. cap — of ice
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. degree — an amount
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. file — a tool
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. file — a line of people
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. swing — music
  19. current — of water
  20. current — happening now
  21. degree — from a university
  22. cap — a lid
  23. swing — in golf
  24. file — a document

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