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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. capital — money
  3. degree — temperature
  4. current — electric
  5. scale — in music
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. current — of water
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. dip — to sink
  12. fall — to drop
  13. degree — an amount
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. fall — to drop
  16. current — happening now
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. capital — a city
  19. mine — for digging
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. scale — size or range
  23. bark — to shout
  24. degree — from a university

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