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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. rash — hasty
  3. capital — a city
  4. degree — temperature
  5. lean — thin
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. rock — music
  8. fall — to drop
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. lean — to bend
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. degree — from a university
  14. fall — the season
  15. current — happening now
  16. degree — an amount
  17. pitch — completely
  18. capital — money
  19. rash — a series
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. current — of water
  22. rock — a stone
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. fall — to drop

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