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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. capital — a city
  3. spell — letters
  4. spring — of water
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. spell — a short time
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. spell — magic
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. degree — from a university
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. spring — the season
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. degree — temperature
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. degree — an amount
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. capital — money

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