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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. lie — to recline
  3. spring — the season
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. spring — a coil
  6. current — of water
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. land — to come down
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — money
  11. current — happening now
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. land — ground
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. branch — a division
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. degree — from a university
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. spring — of water
  21. degree — temperature
  22. degree — an amount
  23. land — a country
  24. lie — an untruth

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