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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 · fan · safe · pit · field · kid · pound · degree

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  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. capital — a big letter
  2. kid — child
  3. capital — money
  4. pit — a hole
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. field — farmland
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. degree — temperature
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. field — a subject
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. field — for sport
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. degree — an amount
  17. pit — in a race
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. capital — a city
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. pound — a weight
  23. safe — out of danger
  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