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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. spring — a coil
  3. degree — temperature
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. spring — of water
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bat — the animal
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. spring — the season
  13. cap — of ice
  14. vault — a safe
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. degree — an amount
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. current — happening now
  20. current — of water
  21. cap — a lid
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. degree — from a university
  24. current — electric

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