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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. capital — a city
  4. degree — from a university
  5. rash — hasty
  6. face — to point toward
  7. net — after costs
  8. pit — a hole
  9. rash — a series
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. capital — money
  13. net — for catching
  14. face — part of the head
  15. face — to confront
  16. net — in sport
  17. pit — in a race
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bulb — for light
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. bulb — for light
  23. degree — an amount
  24. fan — a supporter

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