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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. land — ground
  3. mug — a face
  4. land — to come down
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. board — to get on
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. degree — temperature
  9. capital — money
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. mug — a cup
  12. bass — the fish
  13. degree — an amount
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. bass — low music
  16. mug — to rob
  17. lean — thin
  18. board — a committee
  19. lean — to bend
  20. land — a country
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. lean — to rest against
  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