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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. capital — money
  3. land — a country
  4. degree — temperature
  5. perch — the fish
  6. cue — a signal
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. fine — all right
  9. cue — a hint
  10. fine — high quality
  11. content — the amount
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. degree — from a university
  15. pop — soda
  16. cue — for pool
  17. pop — music
  18. land — ground
  19. land — to come down
  20. capital — a city
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. content — happy
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. pop — to visit

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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