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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. net — in sport
  3. deal — to handle
  4. ground — the earth
  5. capital — money
  6. band — a ring
  7. firm — decided
  8. degree — an amount
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. squash — the sport
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. squash — to crush
  13. degree — from a university
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. net — after costs
  16. firm — a company
  17. firm — steady
  18. degree — temperature
  19. net — for catching
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. capital — a city
  22. ground — a position
  23. ground — crushed
  24. capital — a big letter

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