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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. ground — crushed
  4. pop — music
  5. wound — an injury
  6. rest — a break
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. pop — soda
  9. capital — money
  10. chip — to eat
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. degree — an amount
  13. pop — to visit
  14. degree — from a university
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — what's left
  17. chip — for betting
  18. dip — to sink
  19. degree — temperature
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. ground — the earth
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. ground — a position
  24. capital — a city

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