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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. current — happening now
  3. spell — a short time
  4. can — a tin
  5. cold — not warm
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — to wash
  8. can — a tin
  9. present — a gift
  10. degree — temperature
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. can — to be able to
  13. spell — magic
  14. spell — letters
  15. present — there
  16. capital — a city
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. current — of water
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. degree — an amount
  21. cold — an illness
  22. current — electric
  23. capital — money
  24. present — the time now

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