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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: foot · swing · capital · degree · pit · firm

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — from a university
  4. pit — a hole
  5. degree — temperature
  6. swing — music
  7. firm — a company
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. swing — in golf
  11. capital — money
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. firm — steady
  14. swing — to play on
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. firm — decided
  17. foot — a measure
  18. pit — in a race

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