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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — an amount
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. march — the month
  7. file — a tool
  8. fine — all right
  9. fine — high quality
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. current — electric
  12. swing — in golf
  13. vault — a safe
  14. file — a document
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. march — the month
  17. degree — temperature
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. swing — music
  20. current — happening now
  21. swing — to play on
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. file — a line of people
  24. march — music

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