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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. tear — to rip
  3. degree — temperature
  4. current — happening now
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a music group
  7. tear — from crying
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. degree — an amount
  10. object — an aim
  11. row — a line
  12. chip — to eat
  13. current — electric
  14. tear — from crying
  15. object — a thing
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. degree — from a university
  21. row — to paddle
  22. chip — for betting
  23. object — to protest
  24. wind — to turn a key

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