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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  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. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. degree — from a university
  4. net — for catching
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — an amount
  7. last — final
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. mug — a face
  10. last — to go on
  11. mug — to rob
  12. ground — a position
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. net — after costs
  16. last — finally
  17. net — in sport
  18. ground — crushed
  19. mug — a cup
  20. ground — the earth
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. capital — money
  23. cabinet — ministers
  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