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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: capital · cap · pit · degree · cold · club · rest · can

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. club — for dancing
  3. can — a tin
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. can — a tin
  6. rest — what's left
  7. club — a group
  8. club — for golf
  9. rest — a break
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — an illness
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — money
  14. degree — temperature
  15. cold — not warm
  16. degree — an amount
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cap — a hat
  19. pit — in a race
  20. pit — a hole
  21. cap — of ice
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. degree — from a university
  24. can — to be able to

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