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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. degree — an amount
  3. ground — the earth
  4. chest — of your body
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. chest — a box
  7. ground — a position
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. degree — temperature
  10. chest — of your body
  11. ground — crushed
  12. march — music
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. degree — from a university
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. present — the time now
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. present — there
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. present — a gift

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