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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. capital — a city
  3. fine — all right
  4. fine — high quality
  5. capital — money
  6. face — to point toward
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. staff — employees
  9. clip — to cut
  10. net — in sport
  11. staff — a stick
  12. net — after costs
  13. face — part of the head
  14. degree — temperature
  15. net — for catching
  16. degree — from a university
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. staff — employees
  19. degree — an amount
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. face — to confront
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — for paper
  24. rush — hurry

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