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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. ground — crushed
  3. capital — a city
  4. band — a ring
  5. craft — a skill
  6. craft — boats
  7. band — a music group
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — temperature
  14. ground — the earth
  15. bore — to tire
  16. can — a tin
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. can — to be able to
  19. rash — hasty
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. bore — to drill
  22. can — a tin
  23. capital — money
  24. rash — a series

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