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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. press — a publisher
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — money
  5. degree — an amount
  6. rest — what's left
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. clip — to cut
  9. press — newspapers
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. rest — what's left
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. ball — a dance
  15. degree — temperature
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. vault — a safe
  18. clip — a video
  19. clip — for paper
  20. ball — a great time
  21. degree — from a university
  22. press — to push
  23. rest — a break
  24. ruler — for measuring

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