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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 120 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: row · dip · band · degree · mine · race · capital · pitch

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. pitch — completely
  3. race — the arms race
  4. row — to paddle
  5. band — a ring
  6. degree — an amount
  7. capital — a city
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. band — a music group
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. mine — for digging
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — a contest
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. degree — from a university
  20. capital — money
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. dip — to sink
  23. row — a line
  24. degree — temperature

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