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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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. root — of a word
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. rule — a law
  8. ground — the earth
  9. pit — in a race
  10. degree — from a university
  11. root — the cause
  12. ground — crushed
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. deal — to handle
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. root — of a plant
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. rule — government
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. capital — money
  21. ground — a position
  22. degree — temperature
  23. pit — a hole
  24. rule — to rule out

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