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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. degree — from a university
  3. spring — a coil
  4. cue — for pool
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. spring — of water
  7. rock — music
  8. capital — money
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. rock — a stone
  11. board — a committee
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. squash — to crush
  14. cue — a signal
  15. degree — an amount
  16. pitch — completely
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. board — to get on
  19. spring — the season
  20. degree — temperature
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. cue — a hint
  24. capital — a city

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