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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. capital — a city
  4. band — a ring
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bark — to shout
  7. degree — temperature
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. band — a music group
  11. degree — an amount
  12. court — of a king
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. court — of law
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. court — for sport
  22. degree — from a university
  23. capital — money
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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