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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: stick · chip · degree · rule · capital · scale · bat · stand

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. degree — from a university
  3. rule — a law
  4. bat — the animal
  5. chip — to eat
  6. capital — a city
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. degree — an amount
  10. scale — in music
  11. chip — for betting
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. rule — government
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. stand — to bear
  20. scale — size or range
  21. capital — money
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. stand — for spectators

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