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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bulb — for light
  3. degree — from a university
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. band — a music group
  8. degree — temperature
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. band — a ring
  11. bulb — for light
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. capital — a city
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. chip — to eat
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. mark — a grade
  20. capital — money
  21. wake — a trail
  22. chip — for betting
  23. mark — a trace
  24. band — a rubber band

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