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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. plane — a tool
  3. land — ground
  4. capital — a city
  5. clip — to cut
  6. land — to come down
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. degree — an amount
  10. tube — the underground
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. board — a committee
  15. capital — money
  16. bulb — for light
  17. clip — a video
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. tube — a container
  21. land — a country
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bulb — for light
  24. board — to get on

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