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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: arm · bowl · can · chest · capital · racket · land · degree

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. land — ground
  3. degree — an amount
  4. capital — a city
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. can — a tin
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. capital — money
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. degree — from a university
  17. chest — of your body
  18. degree — temperature
  19. can — to be able to
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. land — a country
  24. land — to come down

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