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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. pop — music
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — temperature
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. march — music
  7. march — the month
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. squash — the sport
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. squash — to crush
  12. march — the month
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. perch — the fish
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. pop — to visit
  18. pop — soda
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. capital — money
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. degree — an amount
  24. plane — a tool

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