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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 116 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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. degree — temperature
  3. capital — money
  4. spell — letters
  5. degree — from a university
  6. capital — a city
  7. race — a contest
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. spell — a short time
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. rock — music
  12. track — a song
  13. mug — a cup
  14. track — to keep track
  15. degree — an amount
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. race — the arms race
  18. rock — a stone
  19. spell — magic
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. mug — a face
  22. fork — in a road
  23. track — a path
  24. race — humankind

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