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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 116 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: mine · trunk · current · degree · cap · deal · tear · content

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. tear — from crying
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. content — happy
  7. current — happening now
  8. cap — a hat
  9. degree — an amount
  10. cap — a lid
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. degree — from a university
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. content — the amount
  15. current — of water
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cap — of ice
  18. tear — to rip
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. deal — to handle
  23. current — electric
  24. degree — temperature

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