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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. clip — for paper
  3. present — there
  4. capital — a city
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. degree — temperature
  9. clip — a video
  10. dip — to sink
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. rule — a law
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. degree — an amount
  16. present — the time now
  17. present — a gift
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. clip — to cut
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. degree — from a university
  23. rule — government
  24. capital — money

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