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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. object — to protest
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. present — a gift
  5. shower — to wash
  6. deal — to handle
  7. capital — money
  8. present — there
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. capital — a city
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — rain
  13. hand — in cards
  14. degree — temperature
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. hand — help
  17. object — a thing
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. object — an aim
  23. degree — from a university
  24. degree — an amount

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