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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: race · lie · capital · date · toast · degree · track · bat

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. toast — bread
  3. race — humankind
  4. capital — money
  5. bat — the animal
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. degree — an amount
  10. race — the arms race
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — the fruit
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. race — a contest
  16. track — a path
  17. capital — a city
  18. track — a song
  19. degree — from a university
  20. lie — to recline
  21. track — to keep track
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. degree — temperature

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