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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. key — in music
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. capital — a city
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. shower — rain
  9. key — the most important part
  10. fine — all right
  11. shower — to wash
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. capital — money
  14. degree — an amount
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. hand — in cards
  18. key — for a lock
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. hand — help
  21. fine — high quality
  22. degree — temperature
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. hand — part of the body

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