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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: date · face · land · hand · fine · stand · capital · degree

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. hand — in cards
  3. degree — an amount
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. fine — high quality
  6. land — ground
  7. land — a country
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. fine — all right
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. capital — a city
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. stand — to bear
  14. capital — money
  15. face — to point toward
  16. degree — temperature
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. degree — from a university
  19. date — the fruit
  20. face — to confront
  21. hand — help
  22. face — part of the head
  23. land — to come down
  24. capital — a big letter

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