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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. charge — a price
  3. cue — for pool
  4. current — happening now
  5. cue — a hint
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. degree — an amount
  9. current — electric
  10. cue — a signal
  11. bear — the animal
  12. degree — from a university
  13. charge — electricity
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. root — the cause
  16. degree — temperature
  17. charge — in control
  18. bear — the animal
  19. current — of water
  20. capital — money
  21. root — of a plant
  22. root — of a word
  23. capital — a city
  24. wake — a trail

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