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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. stem — to come from
  4. capital — money
  5. can — a tin
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. degree — from a university
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. swing — to play on
  10. kick — in football
  11. degree — temperature
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. current — happening now
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. swing — music
  19. current — of water
  20. can — to be able to
  21. can — a tin
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. current — electric
  24. swing — in golf

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