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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 120 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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. degree — an amount
  3. current — of water
  4. press — a publisher
  5. bat — the animal
  6. field — for sport
  7. present — the time now
  8. current — electric
  9. degree — temperature
  10. last — to go on
  11. press — newspapers
  12. field — a subject
  13. last — finally
  14. degree — from a university
  15. cap — of ice
  16. current — happening now
  17. field — farmland
  18. present — a gift
  19. press — to push
  20. cap — a lid
  21. last — final
  22. present — there
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — in an idiom

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