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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: degree · foot · wax · stem · pop · pit · capital · bat

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bat — the animal
  3. degree — from a university
  4. pop — music
  5. pit — in a race
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. stem — to come from
  8. pop — to visit
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. foot — a measure
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. pop — soda
  17. wax — to grow
  18. degree — an amount
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. capital — money
  21. pit — a hole
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. wax — in the ear

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