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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. staff — a stick
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. degree — temperature
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cap — of ice
  7. game — wild animals
  8. current — electric
  9. degree — from a university
  10. current — of water
  11. current — happening now
  12. cap — a hat
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. object — a thing
  15. object — an aim
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. staff — employees
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — a match
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. staff — employees
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. degree — an amount

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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