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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pitcher · degree · bay · file · pop · current · fine · spell

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. current — of water
  4. degree — temperature
  5. fine — high quality
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. current — electric
  9. file — a tool
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. file — a line of people
  12. current — happening now
  13. degree — from a university
  14. file — a document
  15. fine — all right
  16. pop — to visit
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. pop — soda
  19. degree — an amount
  20. spell — a short time
  21. spell — magic
  22. pop — music
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. spell — letters

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