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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. hand — in cards
  3. fall — the season
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — temperature
  7. cue — for pool
  8. object — to protest
  9. object — a thing
  10. drill — army training
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. drill — a practice
  13. object — an aim
  14. cue — a signal
  15. hand — help
  16. fall — to drop
  17. craft — a skill
  18. craft — boats
  19. cue — a hint
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. degree — an amount
  22. capital — a city
  23. drill — the tool
  24. fall — to drop

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