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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — temperature
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. present — the time now
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. object — to protest
  10. bear — the animal
  11. cold — an illness
  12. current — happening now
  13. degree — an amount
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. present — a gift
  16. current — of water
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — to trim
  19. object — a thing
  20. present — there
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. object — an aim
  24. bear — the animal

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