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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. current — happening now
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. current — of water
  6. degree — an amount
  7. net — for catching
  8. cap — a lid
  9. chip — for betting
  10. spring — the season
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. net — in sport
  13. deal — to handle
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spring — of water
  16. net — after costs
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — the animal
  19. chip — to eat
  20. degree — from a university
  21. current — electric
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. degree — temperature
  24. cap — of ice

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