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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. face — to confront
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — a country
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. current — electric
  7. degree — an amount
  8. kid — to tease
  9. land — ground
  10. mug — a face
  11. rush — hurry
  12. degree — temperature
  13. row — to paddle
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. row — a line
  16. kid — child
  17. mug — to rob
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. current — of water
  20. mug — a cup
  21. current — happening now
  22. degree — from a university
  23. face — to point toward
  24. face — part of the head

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