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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. degree — from a university
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. pop — to visit
  9. current — happening now
  10. rest — a break
  11. stand — to bear
  12. current — of water
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — an amount
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. hand — in cards
  18. rest — what's left
  19. pop — music
  20. pound — a weight
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. current — electric
  23. rest — what's left
  24. pop — soda

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