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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — temperature
  4. season — in sport
  5. march — music
  6. capital — money
  7. capital — a city
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. march — the month
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. cap — a lid
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. march — the month
  17. game — wild animals
  18. cap — a hat
  19. degree — an amount
  20. season — of the year
  21. cap — of ice
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. game — a match

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