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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 · degree · pound · arm · race · season

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. pound — a weight
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. race — a contest
  6. capital — a city
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — from a university
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. race — the arms race
  13. capital — money
  14. season — of the year
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. degree — an amount
  17. race — humankind
  18. arm — part of the body

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