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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. degree — an amount
  4. tear — to rip
  5. capital — a city
  6. net — for catching
  7. squash — to crush
  8. fine — high quality
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. net — after costs
  11. tear — from crying
  12. fine — all right
  13. key — in music
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. key — for a lock
  16. capital — money
  17. net — in sport
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. key — the most important part
  20. degree — from a university
  21. tear — from crying
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. squash — the sport
  24. pass — a permit

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