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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: capital · pound · degree · face · race · racket

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. face — part of the head
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. pound — a weight
  6. race — the arms race
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. race — humankind
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. face — to point toward
  12. face — to confront
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — an amount
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. degree — from a university
  17. race — a contest
  18. capital — a city

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