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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bulb — for light
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. mug — a cup
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. wind — moving air
  7. degree — temperature
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. capital — money
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. rash — a series
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. degree — an amount
  16. mug — to rob
  17. wind — moving air
  18. pit — in a race
  19. pit — a hole
  20. mug — a face
  21. capital — a city
  22. bulb — for light
  23. rash — hasty
  24. cold — not warm

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