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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. can — a tin
  3. rest — what's left
  4. capital — money
  5. rest — a break
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — rain
  8. lean — to bend
  9. cell — a phone
  10. rest — what's left
  11. fine — high quality
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. shower — to wash
  14. capital — a city
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. can — a tin
  17. degree — an amount
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. degree — from a university
  20. cell — in biology
  21. can — to be able to
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. lean — thin
  24. degree — temperature

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