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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: degree · deal · current · tear · pit · capital

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

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

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