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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. rush — hurry
  3. dip — to sink
  4. spring — a coil
  5. current — happening now
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. current — electric
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. game — a match
  10. spring — the season
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. kick — in football
  15. degree — from a university
  16. pass — a permit
  17. spring — of water
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. degree — temperature
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. current — of water
  22. game — wild animals
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. degree — an amount

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