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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. march — the month
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. last — final
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. last — to go on
  8. capital — a city
  9. degree — from a university
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. current — happening now
  12. current — electric
  13. march — the month
  14. march — music
  15. capital — money
  16. last — finally
  17. current — of water
  18. kick — in football
  19. drill — a practice
  20. drill — army training
  21. drill — the tool
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — temperature
  24. fine — all right

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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