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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. degree — an amount
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — a city
  5. cap — of ice
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. cap — a hat
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. cap — a lid
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. ball — a dance
  13. lean — to bend
  14. degree — temperature
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. capital — money
  17. bore — to tire
  18. lean — thin
  19. degree — from a university
  20. bore — to drill
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. deal — to handle
  24. ball — a great time

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