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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.

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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. current — electric
  5. cap — of ice
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. tear — from crying
  8. current — happening now
  9. cap — a hat
  10. current — of water
  11. degree — temperature
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. tear — from crying
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. cap — a lid
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — from a university
  18. tear — to rip

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