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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: degree · ground · bowl · capital · bear · kick

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. bear — the animal
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. degree — from a university
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. capital — money
  10. ground — the earth
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. bear — the animal
  13. degree — an amount
  14. capital — a city
  15. degree — temperature
  16. kick — in football
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. ground — a position

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