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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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. pop — to visit
  3. degree — temperature
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. squash — the sport
  7. mate — a friend
  8. degree — an amount
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. degree — from a university
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. mate — a partner
  14. pop — soda
  15. wax — to grow
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. mate — to breed
  18. squash — to crush
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a city
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. pop — music

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