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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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. court — of a king
  4. capital — a city
  5. court — for sport
  6. sharp — clever
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. mark — a grade
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. degree — from a university
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. wind — moving air
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. mark — a trace
  16. court — of law
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. capital — money
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. degree — an amount
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. wind — moving air

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