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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — an amount
  4. pop — soda
  5. mate — to breed
  6. fall — to drop
  7. degree — from a university
  8. kick — in football
  9. ground — crushed
  10. ground — the earth
  11. ground — a position
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. fall — to drop
  15. pop — to visit
  16. capital — money
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. mate — a friend
  20. pop — music
  21. fall — the season
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. mate — a partner

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