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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. mark — a trace
  3. prune — to trim
  4. rule — a law
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. capital — a city
  7. pop — to visit
  8. capital — money
  9. prune — to trim
  10. pop — soda
  11. current — electric
  12. current — of water
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. degree — temperature
  16. pop — music
  17. current — happening now
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. degree — an amount
  20. degree — from a university
  21. mark — a grade
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. rule — government

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