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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  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. current — of water
  2. cap — a hat
  3. ground — the earth
  4. fine — all right
  5. current — electric
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. cap — a lid
  8. degree — an amount
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. cap — of ice
  11. fine — high quality
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. degree — temperature
  14. ground — crushed
  15. stock — goods
  16. stock — shares
  17. degree — from a university
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. rock — music
  20. mine — for digging
  21. rock — a stone
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. ground — a position
  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