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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. degree — an amount
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — what's left
  5. capital — a city
  6. root — of a plant
  7. degree — temperature
  8. root — of a word
  9. capital — money
  10. rest — a break
  11. toast — bread
  12. scale — in music
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. root — the cause
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. wound — an injury
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. degree — from a university
  21. scale — size or range
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. bat — the animal

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