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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 · ground · rush · content · race · chip · capital · mug

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. 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. degree — from a university
  2. race — a contest
  3. ground — the earth
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. mug — to rob
  7. mug — a cup
  8. content — the amount
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. ground — crushed
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. rush — hurry
  13. degree — temperature
  14. chip — to eat
  15. ground — a position
  16. race — humankind
  17. mug — a face
  18. chip — for betting
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. capital — a city
  21. content — happy
  22. degree — an amount
  23. race — the arms race
  24. 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