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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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Word bank
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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: bat · pound · toast · capital · degree · cabinet

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. degree — from a university
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. capital — a city
  8. pound — a weight
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — an amount
  13. capital — money
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. bat — the animal
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. toast — bread

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