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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: degree · date · kick · hide · club · fine · mate · capital

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. club — a group
  3. mate — a partner
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. fine — high quality
  8. fine — all right
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. mate — a friend
  11. capital — money
  12. club — for dancing
  13. club — for golf
  14. degree — an amount
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. date — the fruit
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. degree — from a university
  19. capital — a city
  20. kick — in football
  21. degree — temperature
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. mate — to breed

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