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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. capital — a city
  3. cold — an illness
  4. degree — an amount
  5. date — the fruit
  6. bear — the animal
  7. pass — a permit
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bear — the animal
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. cold — not warm
  12. lean — to bend
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. degree — from a university
  17. spell — a short time
  18. degree — temperature
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. lean — thin
  21. capital — money
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. spell — letters

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