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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: degree · pound · race · wave · stick · capital · ground · cabinet

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. ground — crushed
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. degree — temperature
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. ground — a position
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. pound — a weight
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. ground — the earth
  13. capital — a city
  14. degree — an amount
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. degree — from a university
  18. race — a contest
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. capital — money
  22. race — humankind
  23. race — the arms race
  24. wave — of the sea

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