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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. court — of a king
  4. degree — an amount
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. capital — a city
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. degree — temperature
  10. race — the arms race
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. race — a contest
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. court — of law
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. wake — a trail
  17. plane — a tool
  18. capital — money
  19. race — humankind
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. court — for sport
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. degree — from a university

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