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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: date · tear · cabinet · bore · degree · capital

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. degree — an amount
  6. capital — a city
  7. degree — temperature
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. capital — money
  11. bore — to tire
  12. bore — to drill
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. tear — to rip
  15. tear — from crying
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. degree — from a university
  18. date — the fruit

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