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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 120 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: chair · rule · tear · court · mouse · current · cap · degree

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. 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. cap — a hat
  2. tear — to rip
  3. degree — from a university
  4. current — electric
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cap — of ice
  7. rule — government
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. current — happening now
  11. court — of a king
  12. degree — an amount
  13. chair — a leader
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. court — of law
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rule — a law
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. court — for sport
  21. cap — a lid
  22. degree — temperature
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. 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