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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 have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. current — electric
  3. foot — a measure
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. sharp — clever
  6. cue — a signal
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. pop — to visit
  9. wound — an injury
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. current — of water
  12. wound — an injury
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. degree — from a university
  15. cue — a hint
  16. pop — music
  17. current — happening now
  18. cue — for pool
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. branch — a division
  21. degree — an amount
  22. pop — soda
  23. degree — temperature
  24. foot — the bottom

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