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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ruler · tear · capital · degree · deal · current

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. tear — from crying
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. current — electric
  5. degree — from a university
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. tear — from crying
  9. capital — a city
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. tear — to rip
  12. deal — to handle
  13. degree — temperature
  14. current — happening now
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. capital — money
  17. degree — an amount
  18. capital — a big letter

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