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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. capital — a city
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. firm — a company
  6. race — humankind
  7. degree — temperature
  8. firm — steady
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. capital — money
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. lean — to bend
  15. race — a contest
  16. degree — an amount
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. firm — decided
  19. branch — a division
  20. race — the arms race
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. lean — thin
  23. dip — to sink
  24. degree — from a university

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