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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. degree — an amount
  4. capital — money
  5. chest — a box
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. chest — of your body
  8. rock — music
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. club — a group
  13. club — for golf
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bat — the animal
  16. hand — in cards
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bear — the animal
  19. club — for dancing
  20. rock — a stone
  21. degree — from a university
  22. capital — a city
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — part of the body

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