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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. track — a song
  3. current — of water
  4. tear — to rip
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a city
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. tear — from crying
  9. current — happening now
  10. bulb — for light
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. track — to keep track
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. tear — from crying
  15. degree — an amount
  16. perch — the fish
  17. degree — from a university
  18. track — a path
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. current — electric
  22. bulb — for light
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bulb — of a plant

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