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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 120 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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. season — in sport
  3. file — a line of people
  4. wake — a trail
  5. deal — to handle
  6. capital — a city
  7. file — a tool
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. file — a document
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. bound — obliged
  13. season — of the year
  14. bound — certain
  15. bound — tied together
  16. degree — temperature
  17. capital — money
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. degree — from a university
  20. plane — a tool
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. season — to add flavour

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