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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. craft — a skill
  7. fine — high quality
  8. game — wild animals
  9. craft — boats
  10. fine — all right
  11. pass — a permit
  12. pop — music
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — a city
  15. degree — from a university
  16. pop — to visit
  17. capital — money
  18. tube — a container
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. game — a match
  22. degree — temperature
  23. tube — the underground
  24. degree — an amount

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