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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. capital — a city
  3. firm — decided
  4. swing — music
  5. firm — steady
  6. swing — in golf
  7. current — electric
  8. charge — electricity
  9. capital — money
  10. chest — a box
  11. bear — the animal
  12. swing — to play on
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. chest — of your body
  16. current — happening now
  17. degree — from a university
  18. current — of water
  19. charge — in control
  20. charge — a price
  21. degree — temperature
  22. chest — of your body
  23. firm — a company
  24. bear — the animal

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