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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. cap — of ice
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. tear — to rip
  5. cap — a hat
  6. current — electric
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. tear — from crying
  9. perch — the fish
  10. degree — temperature
  11. stem — to come from
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. current — happening now
  18. tear — from crying
  19. degree — from a university
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. current — of water
  23. plane — a tool
  24. cap — a lid

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