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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. degree — temperature
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. degree — an amount
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. dip — to sink
  11. capital — a city
  12. squash — to crush
  13. band — a ring
  14. band — a music group
  15. squash — the sport
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. cue — for pool
  18. bank — for money
  19. degree — from a university
  20. cue — a signal
  21. capital — money
  22. bank — for money
  23. bank — of a river
  24. cue — a hint

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