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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. degree — an amount
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. degree — temperature
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cue — a signal
  7. tear — to rip
  8. current — of water
  9. cue — for pool
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — money
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. tear — from crying
  14. kick — in football
  15. cue — a hint
  16. degree — from a university
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. current — electric
  19. season — of the year
  20. season — in sport
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. current — happening 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