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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. degree — from a university
  3. capital — money
  4. rest — what's left
  5. cell — a phone
  6. pop — to visit
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — an amount
  9. capital — a city
  10. pop — music
  11. pop — soda
  12. suit — to fit
  13. club — for dancing
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. rest — what's left
  17. club — for golf
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. suit — clothes
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — in biology
  22. club — a group
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. rest — a break

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