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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. pop — soda
  3. pop — to visit
  4. capital — a city
  5. degree — from a university
  6. cap — a hat
  7. cap — of ice
  8. foot — a measure
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. date — the fruit
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. pop — music
  13. cap — a lid
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. capital — money
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. sharp — clever
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. degree — temperature
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. degree — an amount
  24. foot — the bottom

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