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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. degree — temperature
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. degree — an amount
  5. saw — the tool
  6. fall — to drop
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. vault — a safe
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. snap — to click
  14. degree — from a university
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. saw — the tool
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. capital — money
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. fall — the season
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. bat — the animal

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