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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. capital — a city
  4. degree — from a university
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. current — electric
  9. current — of water
  10. mark — a grade
  11. current — happening now
  12. pop — soda
  13. bore — to drill
  14. pop — music
  15. capital — money
  16. degree — temperature
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bore — to tire
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. degree — an amount
  21. game — a match
  22. pop — to visit
  23. mark — a trace
  24. wind — moving air

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