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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 · rush · bore · capital · mark · file · racket · ground

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. mark — a trace
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. ground — crushed
  5. file — a tool
  6. bore — to drill
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. ground — the earth
  9. rush — hurry
  10. mark — a grade
  11. bore — to tire
  12. capital — a city
  13. ground — a position
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. file — a line of people
  16. capital — money
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — from a university
  19. file — a document
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. degree — temperature
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. rush — to hurry

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