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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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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. charge — a price
  4. current — happening now
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wound — an injury
  7. band — a ring
  8. wound — an injury
  9. current — electric
  10. band — a music group
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. degree — temperature
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. degree — an amount
  16. wind — moving air
  17. mark — a grade
  18. capital — money
  19. degree — from a university
  20. charge — electricity
  21. current — of water
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. charge — in control
  24. capital — a city

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