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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — not warm
  4. firm — decided
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. pit — in a race
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bat — the animal
  10. pit — a hole
  11. plane — a tool
  12. capital — money
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. degree — temperature
  15. firm — steady
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. cold — an illness
  19. capital — a city
  20. degree — an amount
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. snap — to click
  23. firm — a company
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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