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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. degree — from a university
  3. rule — a law
  4. bat — the animal
  5. capital — money
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. can — to be able to
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. can — a tin
  10. date — the fruit
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. capital — a city
  13. degree — temperature
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. mark — a trace
  16. rule — government
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. can — a tin
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. degree — an amount
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. bat — in an idiom

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