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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. saw — the tool
  3. saw — the tool
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a document
  6. file — a line of people
  7. shower — rain
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. degree — from a university
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. drill — a practice
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. bat — the animal
  17. current — electric
  18. shower — to wash
  19. drill — the tool
  20. lean — to bend
  21. drill — army training
  22. degree — an amount
  23. current — of water
  24. lean — thin

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