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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. wake — a trail
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. present — there
  5. present — the time now
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. degree — an amount
  8. staff — employees
  9. current — electric
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. field — for sport
  12. staff — a stick
  13. degree — from a university
  14. capital — money
  15. field — farmland
  16. degree — temperature
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. field — a subject
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. current — happening now
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. capital — a city
  23. present — a gift
  24. current — of water

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