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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 116 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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. march — music
  3. tube — a container
  4. cue — a hint
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. scale — in music
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. degree — an amount
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. degree — temperature
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. snap — to click
  13. cue — a signal
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. cue — for pool
  17. capital — money
  18. degree — from a university
  19. tube — the underground
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. scale — size or range
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. deal — to handle
  24. capital — a big letter

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