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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 116 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.

Make a worksheet

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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. land — to come down
  3. land — ground
  4. current — electric
  5. scale — in music
  6. mug — a cup
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. degree — temperature
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. degree — an amount
  11. current — happening now
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — money
  14. scale — size or range
  15. degree — from a university
  16. current — of water
  17. mug — a face
  18. land — a country

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