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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. wind — moving air
  3. degree — an amount
  4. can — a tin
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. band — a music group
  8. foot — a measure
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. wind — moving air
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. can — a tin
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. bat — the animal
  17. band — a ring
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. degree — from a university
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. can — to be able to
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. capital — money

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