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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. capital — a city
  4. ground — a position
  5. ground — crushed
  6. march — the month
  7. wound — an injury
  8. spell — a short time
  9. rash — a series
  10. degree — temperature
  11. march — music
  12. wound — an injury
  13. current — happening now
  14. degree — from a university
  15. current — of water
  16. degree — an amount
  17. ground — the earth
  18. spell — letters
  19. current — electric
  20. rash — hasty
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. spell — magic
  23. capital — money
  24. march — the month

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