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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. capital — a city
  3. pound — a weight
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. degree — from a university
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. degree — temperature
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. wound — an injury
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. stock — goods
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. capital — money
  21. mark — a trace
  22. stock — shares
  23. rush — hurry
  24. mark — a grade

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