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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. date — the fruit
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. rush — hurry
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. ball — a great time
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — from a university
  13. tear — from crying
  14. roll — a cake
  15. foot — a measure
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. tear — from crying
  19. roll — a list
  20. degree — temperature
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. capital — money
  23. tear — to rip
  24. ball — a dance

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