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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 116 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 water is too ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. firm — a company
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — an amount
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. mug — a face
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. deal — to handle
  10. game — a match
  11. degree — from a university
  12. cold — an illness
  13. mug — a cup
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. firm — steady
  16. game — wild animals
  17. capital — a city
  18. firm — decided
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. capital — money
  22. stem — to come from
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. mug — to rob

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