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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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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. current — of water
  3. mug — a cup
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — an amount
  6. last — final
  7. mug — a face
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. degree — temperature
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. root — of a word
  12. current — happening now
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. wind — moving air
  16. last — finally
  17. root — of a plant
  18. last — to go on
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. root — the cause
  22. mug — to rob
  23. current — electric
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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