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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 · present · cap · deal · march · date · land · key

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. cap — of ice
  3. land — to come down
  4. degree — from a university
  5. key — in music
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. march — music
  8. deal — to handle
  9. key — for a lock
  10. key — the most important part
  11. march — the month
  12. present — the time now
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. present — there
  15. march — the month
  16. present — a gift
  17. land — ground
  18. date — the fruit
  19. land — a country
  20. cap — a hat
  21. degree — temperature
  22. degree — an amount
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. date — on the calendar

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