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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 116 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. degree — an amount
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. cap — a lid
  7. pound — a weight
  8. hand — in cards
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. bass — the fish
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. cap — of ice
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. capital — money
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. degree — from a university
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. cap — a hat
  20. hand — help
  21. lie — to recline
  22. degree — temperature
  23. bass — low music
  24. pound — to hit hard

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