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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. degree — temperature
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — an amount
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bound — tied together
  12. bound — obliged
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. scale — in music
  16. bound — certain
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. capital — a city
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. scale — size or range
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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