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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. degree — an amount
  3. fork — in a road
  4. lie — to recline
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. bass — low music
  7. game — a match
  8. capital — money
  9. net — in sport
  10. bass — the fish
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. net — for catching
  16. degree — from a university
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. degree — temperature
  19. game — wild animals
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. net — after costs
  24. bass — the instrument

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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