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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.

Make a worksheet

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

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. degree — an amount
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. wind — moving air
  5. capital — a city
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. club — for dancing
  8. capital — money
  9. mine — for digging
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. degree — from a university
  17. degree — temperature
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. wind — moving air
  23. club — a group
  24. club — for golf

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