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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. degree — an amount
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. content — happy
  6. clip — to cut
  7. mug — a face
  8. capital — money
  9. degree — temperature
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. bulb — for light
  12. clip — a video
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. content — the amount
  16. bulb — for light
  17. capital — a city
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. mug — to rob
  21. mug — a cup
  22. degree — from a university
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. clip — for paper

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