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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — money
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. bore — to drill
  5. bore — to tire
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. snap — to click
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. degree — temperature
  16. ball — a great time
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. degree — an amount
  23. ball — a dance
  24. capital — a big letter

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