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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — an amount
  4. rule — a law
  5. staff — a stick
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. staff — employees
  10. staff — employees
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. club — for dancing
  13. lie — to recline
  14. kid — child
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. capital — a city
  18. rule — government
  19. degree — temperature
  20. deal — to handle
  21. club — for golf
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. club — a group
  24. kid — to tease

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