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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. capital — money
  3. pop — to visit
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. band — a ring
  9. degree — temperature
  10. pop — music
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. sharp — clever
  14. degree — an amount
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. craft — a skill
  17. capital — a city
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. craft — boats
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. pop — soda
  23. band — a music group
  24. bowl — to roll

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