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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 116 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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. capital — a city
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bound — certain
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. bound — tied together
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. hand — help
  11. capital — money
  12. bulb — for light
  13. degree — an amount
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. season — of the year
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — in cards
  19. degree — temperature
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. bound — obliged
  22. deal — to handle
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. season — in sport

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