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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: dip · land · rule · current · prune · court · degree · cap

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. prune — to trim
  3. cap — a hat
  4. court — of a king
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. rule — a law
  7. land — a country
  8. cap — of ice
  9. dip — to sink
  10. land — ground
  11. cap — a lid
  12. degree — an amount
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. prune — to trim
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. degree — temperature
  17. current — happening now
  18. court — of law
  19. degree — from a university
  20. court — for sport
  21. rule — government
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. land — to come down
  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