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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. rash — a series
  3. degree — an amount
  4. cell — in biology
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. degree — from a university
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. suit — clothes
  10. degree — temperature
  11. cell — a phone
  12. fine — all right
  13. rash — hasty
  14. capital — money
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. fine — high quality
  19. suit — in cards
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. suit — to fit
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. arm — a part of something

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