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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 · degree · key · swing · bay · bark · cold · kick

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. degree — an amount
  4. key — the most important part
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. degree — from a university
  7. capital — money
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. cold — an illness
  10. swing — to play on
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. swing — music
  14. bark — to shout
  15. key — in music
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. degree — temperature
  19. kick — in football
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. key — for a lock
  22. swing — in golf
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. capital — a city

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