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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: rash · mouse · degree · race · capital · object

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. capital — a city
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. race — a contest
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. race — the arms race
  8. race — humankind
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — temperature
  13. object — a thing
  14. rash — a series
  15. object — to protest
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. object — an aim
  18. capital — money

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