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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. ground — crushed
  4. degree — from a university
  5. court — of law
  6. capital — a city
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. court — of a king
  10. degree — an amount
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — money
  13. plane — a tool
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. degree — temperature
  20. mine — for digging
  21. court — for sport
  22. ground — a position
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. ground — the earth

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