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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — a city
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. clip — a video
  6. craft — boats
  7. mug — to rob
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. degree — temperature
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — to cut
  14. mug — a face
  15. degree — from a university
  16. capital — money
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. craft — a skill
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. wave — of the sea

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