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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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468
Word bank
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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. pit — a hole
  4. capital — a city
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. mark — a grade
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — from a university
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. capital — money
  12. fork — in a road
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. band — a ring
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. mark — a trace
  18. band — a music group
  19. foot — a measure
  20. chip — to eat
  21. pit — in a race
  22. chip — for betting
  23. degree — temperature
  24. fork — to eat with

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