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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. degree — temperature
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. content — happy
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. capital — money
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. degree — from a university
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. content — the amount
  12. cue — for pool
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. date — the fruit
  15. capital — a city
  16. game — a match
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. cue — a signal
  20. branch — a division
  21. degree — an amount
  22. game — wild animals
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. cue — a hint

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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