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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. degree — from a university
  5. capital — a city
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. deal — to handle
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. race — humankind
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. wake — a trail
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. ball — a dance
  15. chest — a box
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. race — the arms race
  20. degree — an amount
  21. degree — temperature
  22. race — a contest
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — of your body

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