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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. current — happening now
  4. sharp — clever
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. race — the arms race
  7. degree — an amount
  8. capital — money
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. fork — in a road
  11. degree — from a university
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. current — of water
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. current — electric
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. race — a contest
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. capital — a city
  21. race — humankind
  22. dip — to sink
  23. branch — a division
  24. degree — temperature

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