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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  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. ground — a position
  2. wound — an injury
  3. shower — rain
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. net — after costs
  7. net — for catching
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. degree — an amount
  11. current — electric
  12. net — in sport
  13. degree — temperature
  14. shower — to wash
  15. ground — crushed
  16. wound — an injury
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. current — of water
  19. perch — the fish
  20. ground — the earth
  21. degree — from a university
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. leaves — of a tree
  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