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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  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. deal — a big deal
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. bank — of a river
  7. stand — to bear
  8. degree — from a university
  9. deal — to handle
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. scale — size or range
  12. net — in sport
  13. net — for catching
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. scale — in music
  18. bank — for money
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bank — for money
  21. net — after costs
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. capital — money
  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