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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  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. capital — a city
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. ground — crushed
  5. capital — money
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. rock — a stone
  8. degree — from a university
  9. ground — the earth
  10. ball — a great time
  11. snap — to click
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. ball — a dance
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. rock — music
  17. ground — a position
  18. fork — in a road
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — temperature
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  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