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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. degree — from a university
  5. snap — to click
  6. field — farmland
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. field — for sport
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. capital — a city
  11. field — a subject
  12. staff — employees
  13. degree — an amount
  14. capital — money
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. degree — temperature
  17. staff — a stick
  18. fine — high quality
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. staff — employees
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. dip — to sink
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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