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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: snap · capital · key · spell · dip · rock · field · degree

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. degree — an amount
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a city
  5. field — a subject
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. field — for sport
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. rock — music
  11. key — for a lock
  12. spell — a short time
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — from a university
  15. dip — to sink
  16. spell — magic
  17. key — the most important part
  18. rock — a stone
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. snap — to click
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. spell — letters
  24. key — in music

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