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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 am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. capital — a city
  4. scale — size or range
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. cue — a hint
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. drill — a practice
  12. degree — from a university
  13. cue — for pool
  14. drill — army training
  15. degree — an amount
  16. degree — temperature
  17. vault — a safe
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. snap — to click
  21. scale — in music
  22. capital — money
  23. drill — the tool
  24. cue — a signal

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