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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pound · capital · hide · trunk · deal · degree

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. pound — a weight
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. deal — to handle
  7. degree — an amount
  8. capital — a city
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. degree — temperature
  12. capital — money
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. degree — from a university
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. trunk — of a car

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