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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. degree — temperature
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. bulb — for light
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. cold — an illness
  12. degree — from a university
  13. bulb — for light
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. firm — a company
  16. ground — the earth
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. firm — decided
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. ground — a position
  21. capital — money
  22. firm — steady
  23. ground — crushed
  24. cold — not warm

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