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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. capital — money
  4. degree — an amount
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. bat — the animal
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. degree — temperature
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. content — the amount
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. capital — a city
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. content — happy

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