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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. present — there
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. present — a gift
  5. degree — from a university
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. current — of water
  8. wake — a trail
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. squash — to crush
  13. degree — an amount
  14. mine — for digging
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. squash — the sport
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. degree — temperature
  20. current — happening now
  21. present — the time now
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. jam — in traffic

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