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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. game — wild animals
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — the season
  5. capital — money
  6. degree — an amount
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. band — a ring
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. degree — temperature
  13. sharp — clever
  14. band — a music group
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. degree — from a university
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. game — a match
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. spring — a coil
  24. sharp — with an edge

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