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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 116 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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. degree — from a university
  3. pit — a hole
  4. pound — a weight
  5. spring — a coil
  6. mark — a trace
  7. capital — money
  8. degree — an amount
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. spring — of water
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. root — of a word
  13. capital — a city
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. vault — a safe
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. degree — temperature
  18. root — of a plant
  19. spring — the season
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. mark — a grade
  22. pit — in a race
  23. root — the cause
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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