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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: cap · wake · deal · fork · stock · root · capital · degree

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. root — the cause
  4. degree — temperature
  5. capital — a city
  6. degree — an amount
  7. cap — a hat
  8. wake — a trail
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. deal — to handle
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. root — of a word
  13. cap — of ice
  14. stock — goods
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. stock — shares
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. capital — money
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. root — of a plant
  23. fork — in a road
  24. degree — from a university

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