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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  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. tube — the underground
  2. press — to push
  3. cap — a lid
  4. degree — from a university
  5. current — electric
  6. tube — a container
  7. court — of a king
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. cap — of ice
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. current — of water
  12. degree — temperature
  13. current — happening now
  14. press — a publisher
  15. court — for sport
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. capital — money
  18. press — newspapers
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. court — of law
  21. cap — a hat
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. capital — a city
  24. degree — an amount

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