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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: fork · kid · cap · degree · board · sharp · track · capital

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. track — a song
  5. track — a path
  6. board — to get on
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cap — of ice
  9. degree — an amount
  10. board — a committee
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. capital — a city
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. sharp — clever
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. fork — in a road
  18. degree — temperature
  19. degree — from a university
  20. kid — child
  21. capital — money
  22. kid — to tease
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. track — to keep track

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