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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 124 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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. prune — to trim
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. degree — temperature
  5. current — electric
  6. can — a tin
  7. degree — from a university
  8. capital — a city
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. wax — to grow
  15. deal — to handle
  16. capital — money
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. mark — a grade
  19. prune — to trim
  20. current — of water
  21. degree — an amount
  22. can — to be able to
  23. mark — a trace
  24. current — happening now

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