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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: bay · capital · land · chest · rule · degree

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. rule — government
  3. chest — of your body
  4. land — ground
  5. land — to come down
  6. rule — a law
  7. capital — a city
  8. degree — from a university
  9. degree — an amount
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. chest — a box
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. chest — of your body
  17. degree — temperature
  18. rule — to rule out

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