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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 120 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: suit · capital · stick · degree · clip · chest · cabinet · pitcher

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. chest — a box
  3. clip — for paper
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — temperature
  7. clip — to cut
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — a city
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. suit — in cards
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. chest — of your body
  19. suit — clothes
  20. chest — of your body
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. clip — a video
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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