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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. pitch — completely
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rash — a series
  6. net — after costs
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. net — for catching
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — from a university
  14. capital — a city
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. sharp — clever
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. capital — money
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. degree — temperature

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