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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cabinet · pitcher · capital · degree · chest · mug · mate · dip

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. degree — from a university
  3. mug — to rob
  4. chest — of your body
  5. mug — a cup
  6. chest — a box
  7. mate — a friend
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. degree — temperature
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. mug — a face
  13. dip — to sink
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. degree — an amount
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. capital — money
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. mate — a partner
  21. capital — a city
  22. mate — to breed
  23. chest — of your body
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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