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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. capital — money
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — from a university
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. present — a gift
  8. fine — all right
  9. capital — a city
  10. court — of a king
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. court — for sport
  13. fine — high quality
  14. present — the time now
  15. ground — the earth
  16. present — there
  17. degree — an amount
  18. scale — size or range
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. ground — a position
  21. court — of law
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. scale — in music
  24. trunk — of a car

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