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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  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. fine — a penalty
  2. fine — all right
  3. fine — high quality
  4. degree — an amount
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. degree — temperature
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. bulb — for light
  10. wake — a trail
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. band — a music group
  13. net — in sport
  14. net — after costs
  15. bulb — for light
  16. net — for catching
  17. degree — from a university
  18. capital — a city
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. capital — money
  21. band — a ring
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. capital — a big letter
  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