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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. file — a line of people
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — for digging
  5. file — a tool
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bank — of a river
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. bank — for money
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. bank — for money
  16. degree — an amount
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. capital — money
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. file — a document
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. degree — from a university

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