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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  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. lean — to bend
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. degree — an amount
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. degree — temperature
  7. spell — letters
  8. spell — magic
  9. rush — hurry
  10. track — a path
  11. track — to keep track
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. plane — a tool
  14. track — a song
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a city
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. spell — a short time
  20. lean — thin
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. plane — an aircraft
  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