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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. bat — the animal
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. current — electric
  5. ground — the earth
  6. pop — to visit
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. ground — crushed
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — for digging
  12. ground — a position
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — a subject
  15. current — happening now
  16. pop — music
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. degree — from a university
  19. field — for sport
  20. pop — soda
  21. degree — an amount
  22. current — of water
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. mine — belonging to me

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