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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 116 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 valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. current — electric
  3. degree — an amount
  4. cap — a hat
  5. tear — from crying
  6. object — to protest
  7. degree — temperature
  8. field — farmland
  9. current — of water
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. tear — from crying
  12. field — for sport
  13. degree — from a university
  14. ball — a dance
  15. cap — a lid
  16. rule — government
  17. ball — a great time
  18. tear — to rip
  19. rule — a law
  20. object — an aim
  21. current — happening now
  22. cap — of ice
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. field — a subject

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