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

Word bank: current · degree · present · bat · wind · saw · pit · cap

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. bat — the animal
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. current — happening now
  6. degree — from a university
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. cap — a lid
  9. saw — the tool
  10. current — of water
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. present — there
  14. present — the time now
  15. saw — the tool
  16. degree — an amount
  17. present — a gift
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. current — electric
  21. pit — in a race
  22. degree — temperature
  23. pit — a hole
  24. cap — of ice

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