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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. cell — in biology
  5. suit — to fit
  6. degree — temperature
  7. suit — clothes
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. land — ground
  10. suit — in cards
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. capital — money
  13. ground — crushed
  14. cell — a phone
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. degree — an amount
  17. ground — a position
  18. land — a country
  19. capital — a city
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. land — to come down
  22. degree — from a university
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. ground — the earth

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