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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. capital — money
  4. charge — electricity
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. charge — a price
  7. degree — from a university
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. capital — a city
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. bank — of a river
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. pitch — completely
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. bank — for money
  18. degree — temperature
  19. vault — a safe
  20. charge — in control
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. bank — for money

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