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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 124 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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. degree — an amount
  3. capital — money
  4. firm — a company
  5. chest — of your body
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. degree — temperature
  8. board — a committee
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. ball — a dance
  11. wind — moving air
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. chest — a box
  15. firm — decided
  16. firm — steady
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. lie — to recline
  19. board — to get on
  20. wind — moving air
  21. ball — a great time
  22. degree — from a university
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. chest — of your body

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