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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 120 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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. degree — temperature
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — a city
  8. press — to push
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. stock — goods
  11. pop — to visit
  12. mine — for digging
  13. stock — shares
  14. bore — to tire
  15. pop — soda
  16. degree — an amount
  17. capital — money
  18. press — newspapers
  19. press — a publisher
  20. bore — to drill
  21. pop — music
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. degree — from a university
  24. bat — the animal

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