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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. current — electric
  3. land — a country
  4. drill — the tool
  5. track — to keep track
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. swing — in golf
  9. swing — to play on
  10. current — happening now
  11. land — to come down
  12. track — a path
  13. perch — the fish
  14. degree — temperature
  15. swing — music
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. degree — from a university
  18. drill — a practice
  19. degree — an amount
  20. track — a song
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. current — of water
  24. land — ground

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