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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — money
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. rest — a break
  7. ground — the earth
  8. rush — hurry
  9. bark — to shout
  10. ground — a position
  11. rest — what's left
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. ground — crushed
  15. degree — temperature
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. key — the most important part
  18. degree — from a university
  19. rest — what's left
  20. key — for a lock
  21. key — in music
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. ball — a dance
  24. ball — a great time

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