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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. club — a group
  3. club — for dancing
  4. fine — high quality
  5. cold — not warm
  6. degree — an amount
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. deal — to handle
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. fine — all right
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. club — for golf
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. cold — an illness
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. kid — child
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. capital — money
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. degree — from a university
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. kid — to tease
  24. deal — a big deal

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