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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. wake — a trail
  3. ground — the earth
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. roll — a list
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. ground — a position
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. roll — a cake
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — to wash
  12. ground — crushed
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. degree — from a university
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. degree — an amount
  19. mine — for digging
  20. degree — temperature
  21. capital — money
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. ruler — a monarch

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