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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. capital — a city
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. season — in sport
  7. branch — a division
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ground — a position
  10. degree — an amount
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. march — the month
  13. capital — money
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. ground — crushed
  16. fine — all right
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. degree — from a university
  19. march — the month
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. season — of the year
  23. march — music
  24. degree — temperature

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