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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. plane — a tool
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. capital — a city
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cap — of ice
  9. degree — temperature
  10. rush — hurry
  11. bat — the animal
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. stem — to come from
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. lie — to recline
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. capital — money
  22. degree — from a university
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. cap — a lid

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