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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 120 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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. current — electric
  5. degree — an amount
  6. current — happening now
  7. court — of law
  8. clip — a video
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. clip — for paper
  11. court — for sport
  12. wound — an injury
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. clip — to cut
  15. degree — from a university
  16. rest — what's left
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. lie — to recline
  19. current — of water
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. wound — an injury
  22. rest — a break
  23. court — of a king
  24. degree — temperature

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