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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. stock — goods
  3. present — there
  4. spell — letters
  5. current — electric
  6. field — for sport
  7. spell — a short time
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. field — a subject
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. present — the time now
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. current — happening now
  15. field — farmland
  16. present — a gift
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — temperature
  19. degree — an amount
  20. current — of water
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — for digging
  23. stock — shares
  24. temple — a place of worship

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