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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. spell — magic
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. chair — a leader
  7. spell — letters
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. mark — a trace
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. spell — a short time
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. degree — an amount
  14. wax — to grow
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. ground — crushed
  18. capital — a city
  19. capital — money
  20. ground — the earth
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — temperature
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. mark — a grade

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