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

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. capital — money
  3. present — the time now
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. fine — all right
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. degree — temperature
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. cold — not warm
  10. present — there
  11. wind — moving air
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. degree — from a university
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. wind — moving air
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. degree — an amount
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. present — a gift
  22. capital — a city
  23. cold — an illness
  24. fine — a penalty

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