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

Word bank: craft · rest · cold · current · tear · drill · degree · mate

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. drill — army training
  3. current — electric
  4. rest — what's left
  5. degree — from a university
  6. mate — to breed
  7. drill — a practice
  8. cold — an illness
  9. drill — the tool
  10. degree — temperature
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — not warm
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. degree — an amount
  17. rest — a break
  18. craft — boats
  19. tear — from crying
  20. current — happening now
  21. craft — a skill
  22. rest — what's left
  23. current — of water
  24. mate — a partner

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