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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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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. last — finally
  3. capital — a city
  4. snap — to click
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — temperature
  7. lean — thin
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. lean — to bend
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. degree — an amount
  12. fall — the season
  13. swing — in golf
  14. mate — a partner
  15. last — final
  16. fall — to drop
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. fall — to drop
  19. mate — a friend
  20. last — to go on
  21. mate — to breed
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. swing — music
  24. swing — to play on

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